Scavenger Hunt
by Ares-81
Summary: Relics from around the world are being stolen violently, including from Themyscira.  Graphic violence and some sexuality depicted. BM/WW  Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I'm not making any money from this story.

A/N: Thanks to the extremely talented DaisyJane for all of her help with this story.

* * *

The night was dark and silent as she looked out over the ocean and towards the small island. They had chosen this night because it was a total lunar eclipse and the darkness would serve them well.

As they approached the island she gave the signal and her men lowered their night-vision goggles and disabled the safeties on their silenced automatic rifles. Their boat hit the shore with almost no sound and the group of commandos headed for the designated target. They moved with the silence and skill their master demanded of them. It would be better to die here then to fail him.

She heard several silenced shots as she made her way across the beach past the bodies of the fallen guards. She was saddened by the sight of them. Such noble warriors killed without the chance to face their enemy in battle. It was tragic, but a necessary evil. The master's will must be done, whatever the cost.

Silently and quickly she made her way into the temple, it was an impressive sight. Like all of the structures on the island it was built in the style of ancient Greece, with all the majestic beauty that that entailed. However, unlike the rest of the buildings she had seen, this temple was fully dedicated to a goddess. Its statues were carved in such detail that she nearly expected them to breathe and the candelabras around the inner room were forged from gold with magnificent patterns that would be difficult to reproduce even with modern technology. As beautiful as it was, she was not here to sightsee.

She moved to the altar at the centre of the room and retrieved the majestic gold and ivory ceremonial spear and turned to leave.

"You defile the goddess Athena's temple with your foul presence" the large muscular woman spat as she drew her sword, "I will not let you leave here alive!"

The woman moved with speed and grace and she was only just barely able to dodge her first strike. As the woman's sword slashed quickly towards her again, she raised the spear to block it. The Amazon's eyes went wide and she could tell this warrior was using all her strength to stop her blade from striking the precious spear. Her lips curled in a slight grin; that was all the hesitation she would need. She drove the sharp blade of the spear deep into heart of the Amazon warrior and watched the life drain from her eyes.

As she pulled the spear free, the lifeless Amazon collapsed to the ground. She knelt down and with her left hand, closed the brave warrior's eyes. "You do your people proud and die with honour."

Rising, she moved quickly out the door and signaled her commandos to retreat. No alarms had sounded, but she could see several of her men had been slain by the valiant Amazons. She felt no grief for her men, but a pang in her heart for the noble women denied the right to die blade to blade but instead killed with a cowardly bullet from a distance.

As they returned to the boat and departed the shore, she withdrew a small trigger device from her belt and pushed the button. She could see the corpses of her fallen comrades erupt in flames. They had failed their master and would not be mourned. "Alpha one to nest, mission accomplished."


	2. Chapter 1

Diana hurried her way down the long metal corridor of the space station she called home. The view out the window was incredible and deserved to be admired at length, but right now all she wanted to do was take a shower. It had been a long week for the League. It seemed like every enemy they had ever faced had been causing trouble. This latest bout with what was left of the injustice league had seen them chasing their opponents through the sewers and left her desperately wanting a hot shower and to have her uniform cleaned.

She smiled to herself. It had all been worth it to see the look on Batman's face when she emerged from the sewer covered in slime and goo and asked him with the most serious face she could manage, "Do I look okay? I think Agent Faraday is going to be here."

It was cruel she knew, but it wasn't like it was her fault. She'd offered to make their relationship official on more than one occasion. He was torturing himself. The joke hadn't been lost on Shayera either, who in her typical '_subtle'_ way had added, "Don't worry Di. I'm sure that cute agent man will be more than happy to help you wash off!"

As soon as Diana got to her room, she striped her uniform off, putting it into the specially designed mini-washer Bruce had given her, and jumped into the shower. It felt like the best shower she'd ever had in her life and she stayed in well past the recommended five minutes. She could picture Bruce scolding her, "There's no rain in space," he'd say, "Water is a precious commodity up here."

She had just begun to dry off when she heard a knock at the door.

"It's open" she called.

She heard the door slide open and then close again.

"Princess?" Bruce called.

For a moment Diana wondered if he really was here to scold her about her water use as she stepped out of the washroom, still using her towel to dry her hair and then she noticed the look on his face. His jaw had clenched when he had seen her, which for most people was nothing, but for the Batman, that was a look of total shock.

He cleared his throat nervously and set her lasso down on the table, using it as an excuse to turn away from her, "I was just returning this."

She had used her lasso to restrain Cheetah and had been in too much of a hurry to get cleaned off to wait for the DEO to take her into custody.

"Thank you Bruce" she said with a grin, she knew he hated her calling him Bruce when they were on the station. Most of the league still didn't know his identity.

"J'onn says there is an urgent message from Themyscira for you" he said over his shoulder, keeping his back to her.

Diana smiled to herself, only in man's world were they so uptight about nudity, but at least she could enjoy making him sweat. She had him trapped, he couldn't turn around without seeing her naked form and he wouldn't risk opening the door to leave while she could easily be seen from the hallway. She slipped on a pair of jeans and a camisole.

"Okay, its safe now" she said with a smile.

With that the door slid open and the Batman made his escape.

Diana slipped on a pair of shoes and made her way to the monitor womb.

The monitor womb was the command centre for the League. It was nearly four stories high and overlooked the teleport bay. There were hundreds of monitors around the room, showing everything from security cameras to local TV news reports and at least a half dozen were dedicated to the mini bat-cams that the Batman had placed in known criminal hangouts. She knew there would be at least a dozen more bat-cams being watched in the bat cave that the league would call immoral or illegal.

"Hi, J'onn," she greeted the gentle green Martian, "Batman said there was a message for me?"

"Only that it was urgent that you contact Queen Hippolyta," J'onn replied.

Diana smiled, "Mother probably just wants to go over some of the latest treaty negotiations Themyscira has been mitigating."

Diana made her way to a com-unit and tapped in the code to call her native island. A moment later a dark haired Amazon appeared on the screen.

"Philippus, I received an urgent message to contact my mother," she said with a curious tone.

"The Amazon people require the presence of their princess. You must return home immediately."

Diana's eyes were wide with surprise and worry, "What has happened?"

"I can say no more, save to tell you to please make haste." Philippus said with concern on her face.

Philippus was her mother's finest general and had seen many battles. For her to be concerned the situation must be dire.

"I will leave immediately" Diana assured her and with that the call was ended.

J'onn put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I will inform the others that you will be on temporary leave."

Diana smiled at her friend, "Thank you, J'onn" and rushed back to her room to change.

She dressed quickly, wondering what could be so important to summon her home without being able to tell her the reason. She decided it was best not to worry about it until she had all the facts. _Damn, she was starting to sound like Batman!_ She picked up her lasso and headed for the Javelin hanger bay.

Diana flew down the twisting corridors of the Watchtower and was at the hanger bay in less than a minute, a time even Wally would be proud of. As soon as she stepped through the door to the hanger she saw him glaring at her.

"This is a poor time for you to leave" he spat.

"I've been called home. I need to go."

"You don't know the situation," he replied, "We'll take a team."

Diana sighed, "You know full well men are not welcome on the island."

"It's against protocol to go alone. I'll call Shayera to join you," he rebutted.

Since when was there a protocol for visiting home? He was being a jackass, but she knew it was out of concern for her and not malice.

"Bruce, I am the princess of the Amazons and my people have summoned me. I must return."

Diana put her hand on his cheek and spoke softly, "I promise, I'll call if I need help."

Bruce held his hand against hers for a moment and then walked away. When he reached the door, he paused for a moment.

"Princess…" he said softly without turning, "be careful." And then he was gone.

Diana smiled and boarded the Javelin and set a course for home.


	3. Chapter 2

"Princess Diana! It is good that you have arrived so quickly. Queen Hippolyta is waiting for you."

"Thank you, Penelope" Diana said as she made her way quickly to her mother's palace.

The palace was small and simple compared to the lavish palaces of man's world, but its beauty was unmatched. The artisans of the Amazons had worked for centuries carving detail in the stone work. The walls were decorated with scenes from some of the Amazon's greatest battles with incredible detail. They immortalized many of their fallen sisters and ensured that the lessons of the past were never forgotten.

The wall behind the throne was the most majestic of all with a giant carving depicting the goddess Aphrodite bestowing the gift of immortality upon the Amazons and granting them a place safe from man's world, where they could live in peace. The carving was done with such dedication and detail that it had taken nearly three centuries to be completed and nearly looked alive. Aphrodite's beauty was unmatched and Diana's mother, depicted receiving the goddess' gifts, looked like an exact copy of the woman sitting on the throne in front of her, down to the smallest detail.

Diana bowed on one knee, "My Queen, I am here as requested."

"Leave us," Hippolyta called to her guards.

As the guards left, Diana stood and her mother embraced her.

"My daughter, it is good to have you home. I have missed you."

"And I you, Mother," Diana said as they parted, "What has happened?"

"Come, I will show you the tragedy Man's world has wrought upon us" Hippolyta replied as she led Diana out of the palace, towards Athena's temple.

Diana's blood grew hot as she took in the terrible scene around her. Outside of the temple the healers had setup a triage hospital. Beds had been constructed from hides and bamboo, and they were working frantically to keep what Diana estimated through the chaos, were almost a dozen of her sisters alive. The wounded were organized by order of the severity of their wounds, and she could tell two of the most severely wounded were merely being 'made comfortable' as their wounds were deemed too serious for their limited number of healers to spend time on while others could still be saved.

On the ground beside the makeshift hospital, Diana counted seventeen bodies wrapped in ceremonial white cloth in preparation for cremation, coins for Charon placed over their eyes. They were immortal from the revenges of time, but not from the depravities of men. These were her teachers, her friends, her sisters.

Wordlessly, Hippolyta led her into the temple, to the altar of Athena. Philippus stood beside the altar in full warrior dress. She wore traditional bronze armor and war skirt. Her helmet was that of a general with a large red horsehair headdress. She had her sword sheathed at her waist, a spear in her right hand and battle shield in her left. Philippus was ready for war.

"Man has sent his demons to our island," Philippus spat, "He has murdered our sisters and stolen the spear of Athena! We must show them the spirit of true warriors! We must retrieve the spear and slay all those who would bring death to our paradise!"

"We cannot wage war on all of man's world for the foul deeds of a few!" Diana objected. She knew that while the Amazon's army was unmatched in skill, and all what Bruce would call meta-humans, they would be no match for the vast armies of men and their horrible war machines.

"Not all of man's world, Daughter," Hippolyta interjected, "Just those from the tribe of 'Gotham'."

Her words cut Diana like a knife, "Gotham? Why Gotham?"

Philippus handed Diana a blackened copper coloured badge. It looked as if it had been in a fire, but she easily recognized it and cringed as she read the inscription: 'Gotham City Police Department'.

"The defilers furthered their dishonour by burning their dead and wounded," Philippus spat.

Hippolyta put a hand on Diana's shoulder, "The spear must be retrieved, and we must show man's world that such an attack on us will not go unpunished."

"Mother there are many good people in Gotham, let me find the ones responsible before we bring war to those who may be innocent."

"Innocent?" Philippus screamed, "Did you not see our sister's bodies? Did you not see those who even now wait for death's embrace? We must avenge our sisters now! There are no innocents in the world of men!"

"A great warrior once said '_If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.'_ Give me a chance to find our true enemy." Philippus was a great general and Diana could see she saw the wisdom in her words and she silently thanked Bruce for insisting she read Sun Tzu's Art of War.

Hippolyta must have seen the same and nodded her head in agreement, "The festival to honour Athena is in eight days time. The spear must be returned by then."

Diana noted the authority in her mother's voice; in the Queen's voice. This was an ultimatum, the spear would be returned or the Amazons would march to war.

"I will begin my search immediately," Diana replied and raced back to the Javelin. She had a call to make.

As soon as she was aboard the private confines of the Javelin she took a seat in front of the com-unit and punched in the code for the bat-cave.

"Wonder Woman to Batman" she called into her com-unit.

"Trouble in paradise?" Batman replied as his face appeared on the video screen.

"Yes, and I could use your help." Diana explained the thefts, the GCPD badge and dire situation they had caused.

"We need to look at the crime scene and see what evidence is left" Bruce said.

"Bruce, you know you can't come to the island. Can you walk me through what I'm looking for?"

"It's not that simple Princess. It's a crime scene; you're looking for everything and nothing. You need to watch for anything left behind and anything missing" he explained.

Diana thought for a moment, "I have an idea," she opened a storage container under the co-pilot's seat and took out one of the mini-cams Batman kept stocked in all Javelins for impromptu surveillance missions and switched it on, "I can be your eyes."

"Okay, there should be one of my evidence kits in the storage console. Take it with you."

Diana opened the console and retrieved the kit.

"And you call Kal a boy scout" she taunted, "Is there anything you're not prepared for?"

"You mean other than flippant princesses?"

"Or naked ones" she corrected.

"See if you can get a look at what's left of the thief's corpses," he said, with his typical poker face.

The blatant change of subject was not lost on her, but she didn't want to annoy him too much when she needed his help. She'd be sure to make up for it later.

Bruce had her collecting evidence for hours. She never realized how much work was involved. The evidence kit was nearly overflowing with all the samples he'd asked her to retrieve. She had samples from the thief's corpses, swabs from the wounds on her sister's bodies, samples of the dirt where the thief's boat had pulled ashore, bullets and bullet casings, dozens of fingerprints from the altar where the spear was taken and even hairs they found. He had made her video every inch of the scene at least twice.

"Diana, the spear that was stolen: was it from around fourteen-hundred BC?" Bruce asked over the comm.

Diana thought for a moment, "That would be about right, yes. Why?"

"It looks like this theft might be related to two others; one in Rome and another in Kabul, both with the same M.O."

"What was taken?" Diana asked.

"A ceremonial sword supposedly used by Ares from Rome and a dagger given as a gift from Artemis from Kabul. Both are from around fourteen-hundred BC Greece."

"Any idea who's behind it?"

"I'll know more when you bring me the evidence kit, but I have my suspicions." Bruce replied in his usual cryptic manor. She knew he liked his surprises.

"I can teleport the kit to the station for you" she suggested.

"No. We can't risk corrupting the evidence. Bring it to the cave. I'll send you the coordinates where you can hide the Javelin."

"Bruce, my sisters need my help. I have to stay here," she objected.

"This will be helping your sisters. You have eight days, if we can't solve it by then, you can be back to help."

Diana was not looking forward to explaining this to her mother, but she knew Bruce was right. This was their best chance for peace.

"Okay, but tell me, what makes you think you know who's behind all this?"

"It's a feeling. The type of attacks, what they've taken and how they've taken it. It's familiar, it's his style."

Diana was almost afraid to ask, "Who's style?"

"Ra's al Ghul."


	4. Chapter 3

Ra's al Ghul looked out over the balcony to pit below. It was filled with the green liquid that was the source of his long life, bubbling and hissing its displeasure at the cool open air of the cavern. Lazarus pits like this one had sustained him for hundreds of years, but he had not yet obtained true immortality. That was a deficiency he planned to rectify shortly.

At the sound of footsteps echoing through the large corridor, he turned, admiring his layer while he waited for his daughter to approach. Much like the Khazneh of Petra, the incredible façade was carved into the rock of the cliff face. Unlike the Khazneh, he had found this work of art nearly four hundred years ago and had used the local tribes of the area as slaves to carve out the inside to be as grand as its outward appearance. Of all the lairs he had throughout the world, this was his favourite. He had had the granite floors imported from the Rocky Mountains of Canada, the massive columns he had had _removed_ from the ruins of a Roman temple and the lavishly ornate candelabra chandeliers were taken from castles and estates in France after the fall of Napoleon.

"My daughter, you bring good news I trust?" he inquired as the group approached him.

Talia was escorted by three of her commandos, all wearing their black tactical gear and carrying several guns. The weapons were uncivilized, but effective.

"Of course, Father" with a nod Talia commanded her escort to open the cases they carried and show their prizes to their master.

"Magnificent," Ra's said as he removed a sword form the first case, examining the craftsmanship and testing the blades balance.

"Take these to the Witch," Ra's commanded Talia's escorts, replacing the blade in the case, he turned his attention back to his daughter, "Everything is proceeding on schedule."

"Father, was it wise to leave such an obvious calling card for my beloved?" Talia asked.

"The Detective has an annoying habit of interfering with our operations. It would have only been a matter of time before he discovered my plans," Ra's informed his daughter as they walked towards the Witch's room, "This way he will be following the clues I want him to follow, keeping him away from our true goals."

"But Father…"

"Do not worry, Daughter," Ra's interrupted, "If he is truly worthy of your love, he will survive the Genesis project, and then he will see the beauty of my vision."

"But why leave such a calling card with the Amazons? Surely that will attract the attention of the rest of the Justice League," Talia asked.

"The price of the services of the Witch," he replied, "It matters little. The Justice League battles foes who strike out in the open; they do not know what lurks in the shadows. No, the Detective is our only true concern."

"Be careful you do not underestimate the daughter of Hippolyta, Ra's" the Witch interjected, "She is not to be taken lightly."

"Wonder Woman is your concern Witch," Ra's said, the threat in his tone thinly veiled, "I trust you will not let her interfere."

"You will address me as Circe, mortal, not Witch, and although you have secured my services for the moment," Circe said with no veil to the threat in her tone, "Moments are fleeting."

Ra's heard the ring of Ubu drawing his sword and raised a hand to stop him, "My dear Circe, when your work is finished I will be immortal and we shall both have what we want. So for now let us put our misgivings aside, shall we?"

Circe turned back to her work. In front of her was a large table covered in bottles and jars filled with exotic ingredients his men had been retrieving from around the world. She was diligently studying several ancient scrolls written in a long dead Grecian dialect. The relics Talia had brought him were laid out on a second table to Circe's left and as she slowly waived her hands above them, chanting unintelligible words, they began to glow.

"The shield is useless," she spat, "The other four relics will work, but they don't contain nearly enough power on their own. You'll need to obtain more."

"Ubu, have the men dispose of the shield and bring my Daughter the information on the next five relics," Ra's ordered.

"As you wish, my Lord," his loyal servant said with a bow before running off to do his bidding.

Ra's turned to his daughter, "Talia, make your preparations to leave in the morning."

"Yes, Father" Talia said and made her way back to the main chamber.

"And Daughter," Ra's called to her over his shoulder, "Make sure you have contingency plans prepared. I have little doubt you will receive a visit from the Detective on your quest."

Bruce eyes were getting weary from moving from screen to screen as he sat at his powerful computer in the bat-cave. Even before Diana had arrived with the evidence from Themyscira, Bruce had already deuced most of Ra's plot and that bothered him.

Ra's was deranged, but he wasn't stupid. From the consistent M.O. of the thefts and what was being stolen there was an obvious pattern being formed, and the GCPD detective's badge left on the island had been a clear taunt meant for the Batman. Ra's wanted him on the case, which meant it was decoy to draw his attention from something else. Bruce had been searching for hours trying to figure out what that _something else _was. He had learned little he didn't already know from Diana's evidence and, though he was sure he found two smuggling operations and another Kaznian coup attempt, the Interpol, FBI and Justice League databases had nothing that seemed to be linked to Ra's al Ghul.

"Master Bruce," Alfred whispered, "Will you be heading out on patrol tonight, or shall I pour you another coffee?"

"Nightwing agreed to cover my patrol tonight," Bruce said as he held his mug out for Alfred to fill, "If Ra's is up to something, my attention needs to be here."

"Very good Sir," Alfred acknowledged, "Shall I bring something to eat?"

"No. Thank you Alfred."

"Do you have enough coffee there to fill another mug?" a groggy Diana asked, stretching out on medical table.

"Of course. I apologize if I woke you Ms. Diana" Alfred said as he filled her mug.

"It's alright Alfred. I'm surprised I was able to fall asleep with such a stirring conversationalist like Bruce around," Diana replied with more than a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

"Ah, yes. It is one of master Bruce's many talents," Alfred added to Diana's enjoyment.

As Alfred ascended the stairs up to the mansion, Diana made her way to Bruce's side.

"Any progress?" she asked between yawns.

"I've been able to create a reasonable prediction as to what items will be stolen next," Bruce replied without taking his eyes from the screen, "I think our best bet will be to head to Cairo in the morning. Wayne's private jet will be waiting for us at oh-nine-hundred."

"Wouldn't the Javelin be faster?" Diana asked.

"Wayne's jet uses much of the same tech as the Javelin, so the speed difference is negligible and our civilian ID's will work better for us in Cairo."

"Bruce, I don't have a 'civilian ID'," Diana reminded him.

"You do now," Bruce said as he handed her a passport, birth certificate and international drivers licence, "The CIA has set you up with a full identity."

Diana raised a curious eyebrow and asked with a tone that suggested she already knew the answer, "Do they know that?"

"I'm sure they won't complain" he said smoothly.

"Diana Prince? Very original."

"I've asked Alfred to prepare a travel bag for you, since we'll be traveling in civilian clothes," Bruce redirected, "He's included a wig and fake glasses to help hide your identity."

Diana laughed, "Like glasses are going to fool anyone."

"Tell that to Lois Lane," Bruce said under his breath.

Diana opened the travel bag, looked inside and pulled out the blonde wig, "Does this mean you prefer blondes?"

"No. It means I prefer no one identify you," Bruce said curtly.

In truth he hated the idea of her covering her gorgeous raven hair, it was one of the things he found most attractive about her.

He scolded himself for allowing that thought.

"Wow, most of these clothes cost more than mine and Shayera's wardrobes combined," Diana said with a smile, "And they're all my size. How did you know my size?"

"World's greatest detective," he reminded her.

"Uh-huh," she teased.

"Alfred prepared a guest room for you. You may as well get some sleep, there's nothing more you can do from here."

"A guest room? Won't that spoil the great Bruce Wayne's reputation?" she said with a smirk.

"I'll be sure to leave that part out of my next press release," he replied with the most monotone voice he could muster.

Diana walked up behind his chair, reaching over his shoulder she slowly drew her hand across his chest and with her mouth close enough to his ear that he could feel her warm breath said softly, "At least you can honestly tell them you had a princess sleeping naked in _one_ of your beds," kissed his cheek and headed up the stairs to the manor.

Two minutes later Bruce took his next breath. He stood up, cursed Flash and Shayera for introducing her to '_cosmo'_ magazine, and headed for the shower… a nice, ice cold, shower.


	5. Chapter 4

By nine o'clock the next morning they were on Bruce Wayne's private jet and headed for Cairo. Even with the advanced technology of the jet, it would still take a few hours to get half way across the globe, so Diana had insisted Bruce take a nap. He had tried to hide it, but she could tell he had worked all night in the cave. He hadn't told her exactly what he was working on, but she had seen enough of his investigation to know it was coming together too easily so Bruce must have suspected there was more going on then they knew.

About three hours into the trip Bruce had begun to shift nervously and she could see sweat begin to bead on his forehead. Alfred had once let slip that Bruce had nightmares of his parents death nearly every night and she was sure that's what he was seeing now.

When she had first figured out Batman was Bruce Wayne she had looked him up. Most of the public information on him made her angry. They called him a playboy and a disgrace to his family name. She had yelled at him for not defending himself. When a warriors name was impugned it was his duty to defend it! Bruce had shrugged her off, but Kal had explained that Bruce wanted the public to think that way about him. It kept his identity secret and most important it kept those he cared about safe. Bruce was willing to sacrifice his reputation for those he cared about, which only made him all the more noble, and all the more endearing to her.

His parent's death was something that surprised her. Most people she had met in Man's World who had lost family walked with pain, she pitied them. Bruce had his pain, there was no denying that, but she never pitied him. She doubted anyone did. When Diana read the police report she found out why.

His parent's death hadn't been the clean mugging that was portrayed in the media. No doubt that alone would have been traumatic for any child to endure, but it didn't come close to the true horror Bruce had seen. The police report contained a witness account from a window above the alley and reports from the first officers on the scene and the M.E. From that she was able to piece together what Bruce had seen that night, and it turned her stomach.

When Bruce and his parents had come out of the movie and started down the alleyway, a man named Joe Chill had stepped out of the shadows and demanded their money and jewellery. Bruce's father had tried to reason with him, but Chill was going through withdrawals from his cocaine habit and was on edge. Thomas Wayne had moved in front of his son to protect him and that movement had been enough to startle Chill into pulling the trigger. He had fired four times into Thomas and then as he grabbed Martha Wayne's necklace she screamed and he fired twice more into her abdomen. He then turned the gun on Bruce and pulled the trigger. The only reason Bruce had survived is that the six shot revolver was out of bullets and Chill ran. Bruce hadn't cried, hadn't screamed, and hadn't moved. He had been frozen in fear. The first shot from Chills gun had hit Thomas Wayne in the face, and gone right through his skull, splattering blood, grey matter and scalp across Bruce's face.

Diana knew from experience that the two shots his mother had taken in the abdomen would not have been a quick death. Bruce would have watched her suffer as she choked on her own blood and smelt the putrid smell of punctured intestines and bowels. Bruce had witnessed a horror no man should see, much less an eight year old boy. Rather than let that horror destroy him, Bruce had made his pain his weapon.

She could feel her eyes moisten as she moved to Bruce and softly touched his arm, "Bruce, wake up."

Bruce eyes shot open and he looked right at Diana. It was the first time she had ever seen fear in his eyes.

He must have seen the concern on her face, because he quickly plastered on the emotionless poker face of the Batman.

"How far out are we?" he asked avoiding the obvious.

Diana sighed, she wanted him to open up to her, but decided now was not the time to push him.

"We're about forty minutes out," she replied, "What exactly are we going to do when we get there?"

"The relic they'll be after is a helmet supposedly crafted by Hephaestus," Bruce explained, "Its being shown at the opening of a new exhibit at the Coptic museum. Bruce Wayne will be attending to make a large donation to the museum with Diana Prince as his date."

"You know, if I keep going to these charity dances with you, people are going to start to talk," Diana teased.

"It has been happening suspiciously often lately," Bruce said in his '_something's not right'_ voice.

He was right of course. After a conversation she had had with Shayera and J'onn about their dance in Pairs, J'onn had taken it upon himself to setup several meetings with League contacts and surveillance missions on questionable aristocrats at charity events and galas where Bruce Wayne and Ambassador Diana would be their agents on site. She always managed to get him to have at least one dance with her and there had even been a few tabloid articles about the pair being seen dancing together '_a little too close'_.

Diana laughed, "I think J'onn's decided it's the only way you'll agree to take me dancing."

"I'll have to have a talk with J'onn" he growled.

"Don't you like dancing?" she asked.

"I like dancing fine, but J'onn should be more concerned with the job then who your dance partner is" he replied dryly.

"Oh…" Diana said with a soft voice and the best hurt look she could manage, "So it's just me you don't like dancing with?"

She had learned from the magazines Shayera had given her that these kinds of _'no win'_ conversations were a man's worst nightmare and a woman's best friend.

"That's… no… I didn't mean…" Bruce tried to object.

She had made the infallible Batman stumble over his words but there was no way she could keep a straight face and when she began to laugh the glare he gave her just made her laugh all the harder.

When she had managed to rein in her laughter, Diana decided it would be a good time to change the subject back to business, "Most of the thefts have been from museums and private collections, but each time they've only taken one particular piece and not always the most valuable. Why are they stealing these particular relics? "

"Ra's has a fortune several times larger than mine, so money isn't an issue," Bruce replied, "Since all the relics seem to be related to one of your '_gods'_, my best guess is magic."

"Do you know what he's trying to do?" she asked.

She knew Bruce didn't know a lot of magic, but she also knew he would have already followed up on the theory.

"I contacted Zatanna last night,"

"Exactly what time last night did you contact her?" Diana interrupted, she knew he hadn't done it before she went to sleep and she had stayed up in the cave until after three in the morning.

"Zanna is used to me cutting into her sleeping time," he replied in his typical monotone voice.

That caught Diana off guard and she wasn't sure exactly how to take that. _Did he just try to make her jealous? And worse: Did he just succeed?_

"The point is she believes someone is trying to take the small magic essences left from the _'gods'_ touch to imbue themselves with, or in this case, more likely to imbue Ra's with. The problem is she doesn't know of any magic user powerful enough to complete that kind of spell," Bruce finished.

"But I assume you already have a suspect…" she sighed, he really liked his surprises.

"Who do we know that's a powerful magic user and has a grudge with the Amazons?" he asked.

"Circe," she said with disgust in her voice.


	6. Chapter 5

By the time they arrived in Cairo it was a little after six o'clock local time. They headed directly to the hotel to get ready for the museum exhibit opening gala.

When they arrived at the hotel Bruce booked the presidential suite. It only had one bed, to keep up his playboy image, but included a couch that he could sleep on so Diana could have the bed to herself. He prayed she didn't insist on sleeping nude, and then laughed at himself for being the only man in the world that prayed _not_ to spend the night with Wonder Woman naked in his hotel room.

The hotel room was basically a good sized apartment. The doors entered into a large living area that had two couches, a mini bar and a fire place. To the right was a half bathroom. To the left was the dining room, then the bedroom with an on-suite bathroom. There was even a balcony with a private hot tub. The floors were hardwood throughout and the vaulted ceilings made it look all the more extravagant.

"So do you spoil all of your dates with a presidential suite?" Diana teased.

"Yes, but usually Bruce Wayne has an 'emergency' and they get the room all to themselves," Bruce replied, "You'll have to share."

"Darn, I guess I'll have to tell King he'll need to get his own room," Diana taunted.

Bruce tried to ignore the comment, but from the big grin on Diana's face, he guessed he showed his disdain for King Faraday more then he would have liked.

"I'm going to take a shower," Bruce said coolly.

"Was that an invitation?" she asked with a mischievous grin.

A part of him begged his mouth to say 'yes' but his self-control won out.

"Now what would Agent Faraday think?" he said sardonically.

"Your loss," she replied as she began undoing her blouse before he left the room.

He took another cold shower and he could swear he heard Diana giggling, then put on his tux and decided to wait down in the hotel lounge for her to get ready. She enjoyed teasing him too much.

The hotel lounge was basically an upscale bar. It had light music playing and was filled with men in suits and the odd woman in a dress or business suit. Bruce recognized more than a few of them. They were the typical attendants for events like tonight's gala, and most of them already had a few drinks down to make the evening pass more swiftly. Bruce put on his playboy face and shook a couple hands and jokingly made passes as a few of the wives, most of whom gave him a look that said it didn't have to be a joke. He made his way to the bar, taking a seat on the closest barstool and ordered a club soda.

Bruce was beginning to wonder if he should have asked Diana to stay behind. As much as he hated to admit it, she distracted him. It might not be so bad, except that she enjoyed that she could distract him. He considered asking her to stay in the hotel while he investigated, but knew that would just be an argument that he couldn't win. Besides, they were dealing with relics of ancient Greece, touched by supposed _'gods'_ of ancient Greece; who better then Diana to help investigate?

Bruce knew Ra's would be expecting them. They had been lured here. Tonight would be a trap and even if they escaped that trap, they would only be lured to another. But there had been no other leads, nothing they could attach to the Demon's Head. There was no choice but to play his game for now, until they got a break.

Twenty minutes later Diana walked into the lounge and every jaw hit the floor, including Bruce's. He wasn't sure if he wanted to fire Alfred or give him a raise. The gown he had chosen for Diana was a deep blue that matched her eyes almost exactly. It was a slim fit that hugged tightly to her luscious curves and as she turned he could see the dress was a backless cut, exposing unfamiliar skin normally hidden by her uniform, all the way down to the small of her back. The gown stopped at her ankles but had slits up to her mid-thigh on either side, showing off her gorgeously toned legs, made to look all the more sensual by the high heeled silver, diamond studded sandals that had one thin strap around her ankle and another around her toes, leaving as much of her perfect skin showing as possible.

The dress was a classy halter top with a thin cut running down the centre to just above her navel and had a silver clasp connecting the material on either side of the cut at her breasts. It was meant to be a slight tease, but with Diana's voluptuous figure, it showed a generous amount of cleavage. He wished she didn't have to wear the wig, but he had to admit she still looked amazing with the long golden blond curls and glasses. Diana had no need for makeup with her unmatched natural beauty, but she had used a small amount of eye shadow that matched her dress and intensified her eyes, and a lip gloss that made her lips shine and his mouth water. On a silver chain, she wore a rectangular diamond pendent that hung dangerously low, teasing her cleavage. He had given her that pendent before one of their undercover missions at a charity gala after he had overheard her mention to Shayera that she felt out of place because all the other women at those events had such expensive jewellery. It appeared Alfred had found earrings to match. She was stunning… literally.

He was too stunned to speak when she walked up to him with a huge smile and asked, "Do I look okay?"

He had tried to talk, but no words would come out and he just stood their moving his mouth like an idiot.

Diana just smiled, kissed him on the cheek and whispered, "I'll take that as a yes."

Bruce gulped down the rest of his club soda and attempted to recompose himself.

"Sorry Diana," he said, trying to will the blood flow out of his lower extremities and back to his brain, "You look beautiful."

Diana of course saw right through him, but just smiled and said, "Shall we go?"

The hotel was only three blocks from the museum, so they decided to walk. Bruce was trying hard to concentrate on surveillance, but was failing miserably.


	7. Chapter 6

The first part of the evening was fairly uneventful and Diana was enjoying herself. No one knew who the blonde haired Diana Prince was, so they were able to spend far more time together then they normally would as Bruce Wayne and Ambassador Diana. She had managed to get Bruce to dance for most of the evening with her. She had danced with a lot of other men over the last few years, but she and Bruce just seemed to fit together. They spent so much time training and sparing that they anticipated each other and that came through on the dance floor.

She was starting to think they had chosen the wrong relic when a beautiful woman with long dark hair that hung over the left side of her face approached Bruce. She looked gorgeous wearing a slim fitting black strapless dress with a slit that, Diana thought, was a little too high and more in the front of the dress then up the side.

"Hello Beloved," the woman greeted him. Diana could feel her muscles tense.

"Hello Talia," Bruce responded in a voice that was very much Batman, "Diana, this is Talia al Ghul; Talia, Diana Prince."

This was Ra's Al Ghul's daughter? Apparently Bruce had simply forgotten to mention that he had a relationship with her.

"Dismiss your… _escort…_ so we can speak" Talia said, eyeing Diana up and down with a look of disgust on her face.

Diana's blood was boiling. She was a warrior, and this woman had just challenged her. She was trying hard to keep from tearing her in half.

"I am not some wench to be dismissed." Diana spat.

"I am sure." Talia said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "At least not until after he sees how good that dress looks on the bedroom floor."

"I'm not going to engage you in a battle of the wits; I'm a warrior and won't fight someone so unarmed."

"Diana is a trusted friend; you can speak _freely_ in front of her," Bruce interjected.

"As you wish, Beloved" Talia grudgingly accepted.

"And you can stop calling him that at any time," Diana said with venom in her voice.

"What is your father up to, Talia?" Bruce asked trying to bring the conversation back on track.

"I am sure you have already deduced this. That is not why I am here."

"Then why exactly are you here?" Diana asked.

"To give my Beloved a chance to come with us," Talia said as she stepped closer to Bruce, "My father's vision will come to pass. You can be his heir and my husband. We can shape the world to be one of peace, where no child will ever again have to see their parents gunned down before them. Come with me."

Talia reached up and touched Bruce's face gently. Diana could see the passion in her eyes and the pain in Bruce's.

Bruce grasped Talia's wrist and gently pulled her hand away, "We've been over this before, Talia. Your father is mad and I will stop him."

He let go of her wrist and she sighed with what looked like disappointment in her eyes, "So be it."

Talia pressed a button on her earing and suddenly the museum went dark.

That was all the warning Diana and Bruce needed. Bruce dove for cover behind an exhibit of a large tablet of hieroglyphs and quickly stripped off his tux and pulled his cape and cowl from the lining of his jacket. This version of his bat-suit was lighter than normal, but it would do the job. Diana simply ducked into a doorway and began to spin. When she stopped, she was in uniform. She saw the look on his face as he watched her and smiled, he hated magic.

Diana's eyes quickly adjusted to the dark and she saw twelve well-armed commandos entering from the north and south halls and another eight coming in from the skylight.

Diana quickly moved to get the civilians out of the way while keeping one eye on Bruce who went after Talia.

Four of Talia's men moved in front of the charging Batman in a vain attempt to stop him. He leapt into the air, used a flare from his belt to overload their night-vision and slammed the heads of the two closest men together. Dropping to one knee, he used his right leg to sweep the legs out from under one of the remaining men, dropping him hard onto his head. He continued the motion, spinning until he was facing the last man, using his momentum he connected a jaw shattering right hand. The four _commandos_ were down in less than five seconds and he made it to Talia just as she removed the helmet from its display.

"Talia, it's over, hand me the helmet and tell me where to find your father," Batman ordered.

"I am sorry, Beloved," Talia answered, "But I cannot fail my father."

Talia again pressed her earring and part of the ceiling came crashing down as Bizarro landed in front of Talia.

Superman's deformed clone had all of his power but his mind was undeveloped making reasoning with him nearly impossible and his immunity to kryptonite made fighting him even harder. Bizarro was wearing a medallion that looked like it was made of steel and had "Bizarro #1" sloppily engraved in it.

"Goodbye, Beloved," Talia called to him as she ran out the south passage.

Batman dodged a double axe handle from Bizarro that left a crater in the ground where he was standing a moment before.

Diana tossed one of the attackers hard into a group of four more, knocking them all to the ground and flew in at full speed, hitting Bizarro with a right hook that sent him through the wall of the building and out onto the street.

Diana knew Bizarro was more powerful then she was, but she was more skilled. She had trained as an Amazon warrior since she could walk and since coming to Man's World, had studied many other fighting styles. It was why she preferred to spar with Bruce; he tested her skill whereas Kal would only test her power, her brute force. Of course if she was honest with herself, she had other reasons for preferring to spar with Bruce.

As she flew out the newly created exit in the museum, she was quickly met by a charging Bizarro

"Me like pretty lady! Me save you!" Bizarro shouted in his typical bizarre speech pattern.

Diana ducked a hard right hand, grabbed him by the wrist and used his momentum to swing him over her hip and hard into the pavement below them.

The monster quickly shot back to his feet, grabbing Diana by the throat and lifting her off the ground. Diana swung both feet up as hard as she could, connecting with his jaw, breaking his grip and staggering the beast back several feet. She quickly took to the air and with all her strength and speed, hit Bizarro with a massive uppercut that took him off his feet.

She was just about to make another attack when Bizarro suddenly took to the air at super-speed; leaving faster then she could follow.

As Diana came back into the museum, through the newly created entrance Bizarro had made, she saw Batman pulling himself free of the debris from a broken display case and the commando that had tossed him through it running out the door. She started to follow him when Bruce put up his arm stopping her. Before she could question his actions, all of the downed attackers suddenly burst into flames, burning from the inside out.

"Talia took the helmet," Batman said as he quickly made his way back to where he had stashed his tux.

"So we've got nothing?" Diana asked

"I put a tracer on the helmet."

"She knows you," Diana reminded, "She'll look for that."

"I'm counting on it," Bruce said with a small grin. He liked his surprises.

They both quickly changed back into their civilian clothes and Bruce pulled her into a small broom closet just before the museum's power came back on. Bruce made sure to misalign the buttons on his shirt, leaving it half tucked in and half hanging out and his jacket undone. Diana took the cue and messed up her hair, and smeared her lipstick a little. She smiled then smeared a little of her lipstick across Bruce's face too.

"For effect," she told him.

When they heard the police securing the room, they emerged from the closet stumbling and laughing while doing their best drunk impressions.

They were quickly questioned by the police but assured them that they were far too distracted in the broom closet to notice any robberies taking place.

Before they had a chance to straighten themselves out, several cameras flashed in their faces. Apparently the press covering the event had gotten wind that Bruce Wayne was in a broom closet with his date for the evening. Diana hoped the wig and glasses would be enough to hide her identity, but she knew there was no way it was going to fool Shayera and Wally if one of those pictures made the paper.

It didn't take long for the police to release all the guests and Diana and Bruce headed back to the hotel, continuing to play the drunken couple all the way up the elevator.


	8. Chapter 7

As soon as they got in the room, away from security cameras, Bruce's demeanour changed and she could tell he was in pain.

"Are you alright Bruce?" Diana asked.

"Fine, just a scratch," he replied dryly.

He went into the bathroom and removed his shirt. She flinched for a moment when she saw his back and he noticed her reaction in the mirror.

"Not very attractive is it, Princess?" Bruce asked.

His back was covered in scars and now had a fresh new cut across his left shoulder blade. Her heart ached at the sight of it. At the reminder of how much pain he had been through.

"Bruce," she began as she took out the first aid kit and forced him to let her treat the wound, "you are a warrior and a fierce one. Your scars mark battles fought and enemies overcome." Diana finished dressing the wound and let her hands begin to gently wander his back and shoulders, feeling the scars. "They are a tribute to your heart and spirit; A warrior's spirit. The truth is that I find it extremely attractive."

Slowly and silently he turned to face her and her eyes took in his body, perfectly sculpted like the statues of the gods, but no statue could match the feel of him. She felt his muscular body beneath her fingers and her heart began to race. His raptor's gaze made her knees weak and her skin feel ablaze. He took her waste in his powerful hands and pulled her close.

He was leaning back on the counter, and she was standing between his legs, their bodies pressing against each other. Diana could see his eyes were lit with the fire of desire, and knew he saw it echoed in her own. Her hands continued to explore him, now feeling his chest and abdomen and soon were joined by her lips and tongue, taking in each scar. His hands had made their way from her waist into the slits on the side of her dress and were working their way up her thighs making her body shiver as he reached ever higher.

Diana slowly worked her kisses up his chest enticing a small moan, then continued to his neck and onto his chin. She brought her face to his, their eyes met briefly before his lustful gaze fell to her mouth as she bit her bottom lip. Bruce gripped her behind tightly and pulled her against his body. She could feel the heat of his need pressing against her, the softness of her breasts pressed against the hard muscles of his chest. She let her lips slowly graze his, feeling the warmth of his breath on her and wanting nothing more than to indulge in the taste of him, to sooth the burning within her.

"Watchtower to Batman" the horribly timed call came from the laptop linkup.

Diana was surprised by the sound and pulled back slightly. That was all the opportunity the Batman needed, and he quickly made his escape from her, moving to the laptop.

"Batman here. Go ahead."

"The museum incursion force managed to elude the satellite tracking," J'onn informed them, "but it looks like they were headed for the Red Sea. I've included the relevant tracking data in the files I sent you."

"Understood."

"One more thing," the Martian added, "we have received a hit on one of the relics you have been tracking."

"Which one?" Diana asked, hoping it might be the spear.

"A shield that was stolen from a collector in Naples," J'onn replied. "A known fence in Tripoli, Libya is trying to move it. Should I send someone to follow up?"

"No, I'll look into it myself," Bruce answered. "Just keep me informed."

"Very well," J'onn agreed, "Good luck."

"Thank you, J'onn" Diana said, knowing Bruce wouldn't.

J'onn nodded and disconnected the call.

"I guess I should get my uniform on," Diana sighed as Bruce slid his cowl on. He was already back in uniform and ready to work.

"No, you should stay here and get some sleep," the Batman replied, "I'll handle this better on my own."

Diana glared at him and planted her fists on her hips, "Bruce…"

"Please Diana," Bruce cut her off, "I'd like to handle this alone."

With that he moved to the balcony and fired a grapple into the air to an awaiting bat-wing, and he was gone.

She wanted to be mad at him, to fly after him. She could fly faster than he could. But Bruce had said please. The Batman had just said _please!_ How could she not respect his request?

Diana flopped down on the bed, frustrated in more ways than one.

"Watchtower to Wonder Woman" Shayera's voice came over the link.

"Hi Shayera," she replied half-heartedly as her winged best friend's image came up on the video link.

"That didn't sound too enthusiastic, did I interrupt something?" Shayera responded with a devious grin.

"Only my brooding"

It had been an hour since Bruce had taken off and she couldn't turn her mind off long enough to go to sleep.

"Brooding? From the reports I saw, I thought you'd be in a great mood."

Diana lifted a curious eyebrow, "What reports?"

"Check the Gotham Gazette website," Shayera said with a smile.

When Diana pulled up the site the first thing she saw was a huge picture of her and Bruce just after they had come out of the broom closet looking dishevelled. The headline read 'Bruce Wayne, hot and heavy under fire.' Thankfully no one seemed to recognize her. She was identified as Diana Prince, a new security consultant for Wayne industries and there were several innuendos made about just exactly what she was consulting on.

"That dress was hot!" Shayera grinned, "No wonder he couldn't wait for the hotel."

Diana laughed in frustration, "Sorry to disappoint, but it was just a cover so the police wouldn't ask why we weren't with the rest of the guests. Nothing happened."

"Nothing happened?" Shayera exclaimed, "Are you sure those articles about him being gay aren't true? There's no way a straight man could see you in that dress and not at least try to kiss you!"

A small smile came to Diana's face at the memory of what _almost_ was, "He's definitely straight."

"Oh, so something did happen?" Shayera said with her 'spare no details' grin.

"Well something was happening until J'onn's message interrupted and the Batman escaped into the night."

"Why are you wasting your time with him?" Shayera asked, "You're Wonder Woman, every man on the planet has wet dreams about you!"

Diana wasn't sure what 'wet dreams' meant, but being it was Shayera that said it, she had a pretty good guess.

"It's not like I'm waiting around for him, I just haven't met any other guys that really interest me."

"Honey, you live on a space station full of super-heroes, most of which look like a cross between a bodybuilder and a movie star." Shayera said shaking her head, "There's so much eye candy up here that it's practically a buffet. How can you not see one you're interested in?"

"None of them even have the courage to approach me."

"That's because everyone on the station knows Batman has a thing for you and they're terrified of him."

Diana laughed, "Bruce wouldn't care if one of them asked me on a date."

"Don't be so sure," Shayera replied, "Booster Gold isn't allowed within twenty feet of you under threat of debilitating injury."

"I was wondering why he ran every time I came in the same room as him." Diana laughed. Then remembering the first time she met him added, "Not that I mind."

"Look, every woman has a Batman fantasy now and again, the guy is gorgeous and mysterious and who wouldn't want their own knight in kevlar armour?" Shayera said and Diana wasn't sure how she felt about this revelation, "But I just don't think he's the relationship type."

"Well he seemed to have a relationship with Ra's al Ghul's daughter." Diana replied bitterly.

"Ouch," Shayera said with a cringe, "Did he tell you that?"

"No, he neglected to mention it," Diana replied, "But I met her tonight just before she sicked Bizarro on me. She kept calling him her beloved and asked him to be her husband."

"Well he obviously turned her down and ended up coming back with you, so you should probably get his side of the story," Shayera said, "And don't forget she's a psycho terrorist helping her father in his plots to take over the world. Not exactly a trustworthy source of information!"

"I suppose you're right," Diana laughed, "at least I beat out the competition in some areas."

"Did you look at yourself in that dress? You beat out every woman on the planet in all the right areas!"

Diana laughed and the two of them kept talking well into the night, keeping her from worrying too much about what Bruce was doing.


	9. Chapter 8

Abu al-Sanussi was a simple man, he led a simple life. He remembered watching his father teach him how to throw a ball, how to ride a bike and most importantly, how to con a man.

He remembered the first tourist he conned into buying an 'authentic' Libyan relic and the first cop he conned into believing someone else was guilty of his crimes.

He watched the images of his best conns and his best heists flash before his eyes. They were good memories and he was sure they would be the last he would have as he watched the pavement approaching all too quickly.

Suddenly he jerked to a stop, just a few feet above the pavement, and was pulled back up the five story building until he was hanging face to face with the demon.

"Who brought you the shield?" the demon growled.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about!" he hollered.

The demon grabbed his shirt and pulled his face close. Abu could see its white eyes glowing as it glared at him. He had never been so terrified in his life. To die at a demon's hand was to experience pain beyond any mortal's capability and be condemned to hell.

"Then you're no use to me," the demon roared and dropped him again.

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you!" Abu screamed as he fell. The wrath of his clients, if they found out, would not be a match for the wrath of Iblis and his demons.

The demon pulled him back up so they were again face to face and just glared at him without saying a word.

Its glare was terrifying and Abu felt sure it was ripping away his very soul. He told the demon about the man who brought the shield and gave him the account number where the money was deposited. He told him every detail he could think of, but the demon just continued to glare at him.

Suddenly the demon dropped him again. Abu screamed all the way down, he had told the demon what it wanted to know, but he should have known better then to trust a demon. He was going to die, he was sure of it. Just a few feet before the pavement, he jerked to a stop again and then dropped the rest of the way to the ground.

He looked up where the demon had been, but it had used its magic to disappear. Abu staggered a few feet and then fainted.

Batman followed the information he had gotten from the fence to a man named Eric Watson. Watson was a former US Navy seal who had been reported MIA two years ago. Batman ran the typical checks for family and known associates that would be likely to know Watson was still alive and managed to track down a cell phone number his sister called regularly in Africa.

The GPS signal on that cell phone was currently traveling south through Sudan, but with the Bat-Wing, he easily caught up with it. He had thought to follow Watson to see if he would lead him to Ra's al Ghul's hideout, but the three heavily armed Humvees on approach told him Ra's had already learned of Watson's mistake and didn't plan on letting him live long enough to give any information away.

Batman swooped his bat-shaped plane down and clamped onto Watson's car, lifting him high into the air. The approaching Humvees fired wildly at them as he flew out into the night sky. Batman found a remote area of the Nubian Desert, released Watson's car and landed.

As he approached the car, he saw the blood. One of the bullets had found their mark and Watson wouldn't be giving him any information. Angrily he pulled the door open and began searching the car and the body for any clues. Eventually he found a jump drive hidden in Watson's left shoe. It could be the break he needed, or it could be family photos, but it seemed to be the only evidence and he was tired. He would take the drive back to the hotel and check it over with Diana.

Diana. He had been trying not to think about her. He had come so close to giving in to his desires and the impossible dream that maybe he could make her happy; that they could have a relationship beyond just friends and coworkers. He knew better. She couldn't be part of his world. None of them could be.

The others fought the demi-gods, the alien invaders, the super-villains. He fought the real monsters, the worst mankind had to offer and that's how he planned to keep it.

He recalled the monster he had taken down a week earlier. This monster had been kidnaping children across Gotham. The sick bastard had gotten off on mutilating the children while raping and then finally killing them. This was not a monster like the heroes of the Justice League faced. He had no tentacles or razor sharp teeth. He wasn't ten meters tall and didn't have the strength to lift cars. He was the son of a corporate CEO who had been protected from the law his whole life by his father's money. He was born of man and allowed to fester and become the worst man had to offer. He was a true monster.

These were the monsters that the Batman faced. And he would make sure he faced them alone. Diana, Clark and even Wally, in his own way, were symbols of light. They were the heroes that inspired people, made them want to be better than they are. He would not allow them to be tainted and darkened by his monsters. He would not allow _her_ to be. She needed to remain bright and true; to give the world something to aspire to. If all it cost to keep her from these horrors was his soul; that was a price he was willing to pay.

It was a little before five in the morning when he climbed in the window. Diana had tried to wait up for him but had fallen asleep, curled up on the couch wearing his dress shirt. She was beautiful.

He stood there for a long while just watching her sleep. Her long raven hair, her even longer gorgeous legs, even the cute way she crinkled her nose up as she dreamed. He told himself he was being stupid, that this was just torturing himself needlessly. But some part of him, the Bruce Wayne part of him, couldn't help but imagine being able to see her like that every morning.

Bruce changed out of his costume and into a pair of sweatpants. He knelt down in front of his sleeping beauty; he was mesmerized by her steady breathing and slowly swept a stray strand of hair away from her face. How could one person be so perfect?

Slowly he worked one arm under her shoulders and the other under her legs. He gently picked her up. She stirred a little, wrapping her arms around his neck; she nuzzled her head into his shoulder and mumbled something he couldn't understand. He took her to the bed and laid her down.

"Bruce…" she said, looking up at him with half closed eyes.

"Shh, go back to sleep," he said quietly, pulling the covers over her.

She pulled him in and kissed him gently before snuggling against her pillow and going back to sleep.

Bruce went back to the couch and began reading through the data on Watson's jump drive, trying in vain to get her out of his head. The drive was encrypted but with the link to the Watchtower systems, it didn't take long to break. Most of the information was just confirming what he already knew, then he stumbled on a hidden folder called 'project genesis.' There wasn't much information on what the project actually was, but it did list four relics that were required. This was the information he had been looking for; something to show why Ra's would risk bringing the Justice League into the investigation by attacking the Amazons and why he would be sending the Batman off chasing after Talia and her men.

The four relics needed were: the Spear of Athena, taken from the Amazons, the Bow of Apollo, currently in a Cadmus lockdown, the Staff of Gaea, believed to be on Blackhawk Island, and Poseidon's Trident, in Atlantis. All of the relics were immensely powerful and though he wasn't sure yet exactly what Ra's wanted with them, his past history and the obviousness of the name genesis, made him sure it wouldn't be good for the population of the planet.

It was after six in the morning so Bruce decided to try to get some sleep.

After about an hour of lying there thinking about all the data from the drive, Talia, and mostly Diana, he gave up. He could still feel her lips on his and couldn't get the image of her out of his mind. He decided a workout seemed like a good plan. Maybe he could sweat her out of him.


	10. Chapter 9

Talia was lost in thought as she walked, each footstep sending a clang that echoed several times down the long metal corridor of the submarine before dissipating. It would only be a matter of time before her Beloved found them, but she had put the relics they had taken in a magnetic field that would keep any of his hidden tracers from broadcasting, so she knew she still had some time. She had more urgent matters to deal with. Once her father was truly immortal, he'd have little use for her. Talia would not fail her father, but she had to be sure he still saw her as valuable. It was time to put her own plan into motion. It was time to deal with the Amazon.

As she walked along she heard one of her soldiers bragging about how he had thrown the Batman through a display case and made his escape. He was telling the others how he was going to finish him off, but the retreat signal had been sounded and, luckily for the Batman, he had to obey.

Her blood boiled at his ignorance and she charged into the room and hit him with a hard right hook that knocked him from his feet. All of the other men stood at attention when they saw her.

"You idiot!" she hollered. "Did you really think you could beat the Batman had he not wanted you to?"

"I am a trained assassin…" the man began.

"You are a fool!" she yelled and began searching his gear. Tucked under his vest she found what she was looking for.

Talia held the small black bat-shaped device up for him to see, "This is why you escaped! He let you escape so you could lead him to us!"

With just a look to the soldier beside the fool, the order was given and she turned and walked away. She heard the shot before she left the room. _One less fool in the world._

Diana woke in the bed, not remembering how she got there. She had tried to wait up for Bruce, but fell asleep on the couch sometime after three.

As she got out of bed she could hear slight grunting sounds coming from the main room and quietly made her way over to have a look. She saw Bruce with his back to her, his body slightly arched and upside down as he did push-ups from a handstand position. His balance was perfect and she watched as the muscles of his shoulders and arms moved and flexed with each motion.

"Enjoying the view?" he asked.

She grinned; she should have known she couldn't sneak up on him. "As a matter of fact, yes, I am."

He dropped to a regular push-up before coming to his feet.

"A princess really should be better behaved," he teased.

"For an Amazon princess, this is well behaved," she taunted, "I could just ravage you any time I wanted."

"Is that a threat, or a promise?" he grinned, his Bruce Wayne playboy grin.

"Watchtower to Batman" Kal's voice came over the link. She was really getting tired of that thing. She left Bruce to deal with it and went to the shower.

"What is it Clark?" Bruce asked dryly, activating the video link.

"Good morning to you too," Clark said in his normal too cheerful manner. "I just wanted to check in and see where you're at on the hunt for Ra's"

"I'm going to have to keep that off the books," Bruce replied, giving Clark a look he knew he'd recognize as 'don't ask.'

"Okay, I'll check in with you later," Clark said.

Bruce went to the balcony and opened the patio doors then went and sat back on the couch. Three minutes later a red and blue blur shot in the open window.

"Okay, what's going on?" Clark asked.

Diana walked out of the bedroom dressed in a white blouse, a grey pencil skirt and black high heels. She had the glasses on and was in the process of tucking her long hair under the wig.

"Good morning, Kal," she said with a smile.

"Diana you look great," Clark replied with a stupid schoolboy smile. He always was too quick to compliment her for Bruce's taste.

"Thank you. What are you doing here?" she asked.

Bruce turned the laptop so they both could see.

"This is the information I got from one of Ra's men last night," Bruce said, "Just after they killed him."

Both Clark and Diana looked at the screen and recognized the open files as being from the Watchtower database.

"We have a leak." Bruce said with finality.

"Okay, I'll talk to J'onn and we'll get to work on finding it," Clark replied.

"In the meantime, Diana and I are going to have to go dark."

"Go dark?" Clark questioned, "Is that a good idea when you're tracking someone as dangerous as Ra's al Ghul? If something happened we'd have way to know."

"I've gone dark tracking him before," Bruce said, knowing it wasn't him Clark was worried about.

"I know but..."

"Kal," Diana cut in, "we'll be fine. Bruce is right; we need to go dark for a few days." She turned and headed for the door, "I'm going to get the paper and order us some breakfast."

They both watched her leave then Clark turned to Bruce and said, "That was an obvious 'leave the boys to talk' exit."

"She knows we're about to argue over her safety and she doesn't want to listen because she's going to do it her way no matter what we decide."

"Bruce, what's going on between you two?"

"Nothing."

"Bruce, I'm your friend. It's been blindingly obvious that you two have been dancing around a relationship for years now, and now you're out on a private mission, just the two of you."

"Clark, there's nothing to talk about."

"Well maybe there should be."

"What?" Bruce asked, confused at the boy-scout's response.

Clark folded his arms across his chest, "Do you think you're going to do better than Diana?"

"No."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Diana's an immortal princess who brings hope to the whole world. I'm just a guy from Gotham who beats people up at night. We're from different worlds."

"Yeah, you're right Bruce" Clark said with a sarcastic edge. "She's stubborn, trains at all hours of the day, is totally committed to her mission and treats everything in life like a battle… you two have nothing in common."

"You're her best friend Clark. Would you really want to see her with someone like me?"

"I'm your best friend too. I've known you a long time and frankly I think the match is good for both of you. She might pull you out of the constant near depression you've been in since Dick left and your insight about our society would be good for her."

"My _insight_ just might scare her back to her island" Bruce replied flatly.

"I don't think you give her enough credit. She's every bit as strong willed as you are."

"I can't risk it. She can find someone better." What was Clark thinking? He should be telling him to stay away from her!

"I think that's her call to make Bruce."

With that Diana came back in the door, "Are you two done arguing about how best to protect me?"

"We didn't bother," Clark replied, "We knew you'd just do what you wanted to do anyway."

"You're learning!" Diana said with a smile.

Diana set the newspaper down on the table and took a seat beside Bruce, pulling the laptop to her so she could review the evidence that had been gathered.

"The Watchtower received an alert of a breach on Blackhawk Island yesterday" Diana said. "Looks like that leaves two relics to choose from."

"So what's your next step?" Clark asked.

"Atlantis" Bruce replied.

"Why Atlantis?" Clark asked, "Cadmus security would be easier to breach."

"Talia is headed for Atlantis" Bruce answered. "The only question will be when."

"Midnight" Diana said with certainty, drawing curious looks from both men.

"You sound pretty sure of yourself Diana" Clark said with an inquisitive tone.

"Tonight the planet Neptune, the Roman name for Poseidon, comes into alignment with Earth," Diana explained. "Atlantis holds a major ceremony in its honour, leaving security around the relic minimal."

Bruce smiled a little. Diana was becoming a skilled investigator.

"Okay, so we should contact Arthur and let him know" Clark said.

Bruce just glared at the boy-scout.

"Yeah I know Arthur isn't very open to help, but I'm sure he'll accept support from the League" Clark said. "We have helped him before."

"Arthur does not like anyone from Man's World in his territory," Diana pointed out. "I very much doubt he'll be open to our help."

"Our help: no" Bruce replied. "Your help, Diana, he will be open to."

Diana raised a curious eyebrow, pulling her head back and looking at Bruce like he had just grown a new head.

"Why me?" she asked.

_Sometimes she is just so innocent_, Bruce thought.

"I've seen the way he looks at you" Bruce stated flatly, "He'll let you help."

Diana still looked confused, but Clark nodded his agreement, "Bruce is right."


	11. Chapter 10

The guard's head hit the wall with a thud as he collapsed to the floor. Diana spun around and caught another guard with the back of her fist sending him soaring through the air.

"I should know better than to listen to Kent's ideas!" Batman spat as he tackled two more guards.

"Well I don't think Kal factored you calling the king of Atlantis an 'arrogant bigot' into his plan" Diana replied as she dodged a spear and landed a roundhouse kick to the head of its owner.

"If the shoe fits…" Batman quipped as he tossed another of the Atlantian Elite guard across the room. "Besides, these are the queen's guards, and it's not me they're after."

"You were the one who told me to bat my eye brows at Arthur!" Diana protested.

"That's 'eye lashes' and you didn't have to let him touch you!" Batman's words came with rage that was echoed in the punch he landed to the face of his opponent.

"It's not like he molested me! He just put his hand on my arm," Diana defended. "Besides, Arthur is an attractive man, it's not like I mind him flirting with me."

Batman's face visibly reddened and he landed several bone shattering hits on the Atlantian guards, "This isn't the time to flirt!" he spat and then connected with a side kick that nearly took a man's head off.

Diana rather enjoyed that she had managed to make him jealous, but decided not to press it for the sake of the Atlantians. A pissed off Batman was not something she'd wish on anyone.

"How did Orm manage to get such high ranking supporters inside Atlantis?" she asked as she tossed the last guard against the wall.

"I'm not sure. Arthur has made a lot of traditionalists angry by helping people on the surface and even making alliances with its nations" Bruce replied as he finished restraining the unconscious guards. "But Mera has always been fiercely loyal to her husband. Why betray him now?"

"Circe! She must have beaten us here and enthralled Mera and the generals" Diana answered with her detest for the witch seeping into her tone.

"And Arthur is too blinded by his hate of his brother to realize he's only being used as a distraction to let Talia get the trident."

"Which means; if we're going to keep it away from your _girlfriend,_ we are going to have to defend the trident ourselves." Diana was still annoyed that he refused to tell her about his relationship with Talia, but his only response was a short glare before turning for the doorway.

They moved swiftly through the hallways of the great Atlantian palace, avoiding most opposition and quickly and silently dispatching any that they couldn't.

When they arrived at the chamber that safeguarded the trident, they came face to face with Talia and her hired help: Electrocutioner, Deadshot and Star Sapphire.

Bruce unleashed a bola at Deadshot instantly and Diana quickly fended off blasts from Star Sapphire.

"Capture the Amazon!" Talia ordered.

Diana briefly wondered why Talia wanted her, but didn't have time to dwell on it. Star Sapphire was a difficult opponent on her own, and right now they were outnumbered two to one.

Bruce dodged several blasts from Electrocutioner before connecting with a right hand to his head sending him stumbling between Star Sapphire and herself. Diana used the distraction to toss her lasso around Talia just stopping her from grabbing the Trident and pulling her back hard into Diana's awaiting forearm.

Deadshot had cut himself free of Bruce's bola and was now firing a hail of bullets at the caped crusader. Diana wanted to help him, but she had to deal with her own problems and trust Bruce to take care of himself.

Diana tossed Electrocutioner through the air at Sapphire, and charged fast. If she could distract Sapphire long enough to get close, it would only take one hit to put her out, but Sapphire quickly threw up a shield of pink energy blocking Diana's path.

Reclaiming her lasso from an unconscious Talia, Diana used it to snag Electrocutioner's hands together as he fired a blast of energy at her. She swung him hard, striking a water pipe feeding a fountain at the back of the room. As the pipe burst it sent a surge of water at Star Sapphire, hitting her from behind and knocking her from the air. It distracted her long enough for Diana to hit her with a two fisted charge that knocked Sapphire cold.

Diana turned to see Bruce finish hog tying a bloodied Deadshot. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck. As she reached back she felt the dart stuck in her, and turned to see Talia with a gun trained on her.

"There's enough sedative in that dart to drop an enraged rhino" Talia informed her, "Goodnight Amazon."

Diana was fighting hard to keep on her feet, but she could feel her muscles shutting down and her eyes had grown so very heavy. She saw a batarang knock the gun from Talia's hand and heard Bruce shout as she collapsed to her knees.

"Talia! It's over. You've lost" he hollered as he leaned over Diana to check on her. She felt him pull the dart from her neck and watched as he squeezed its contents onto a small scanner.

"I think not, Beloved" Talia answered with a smile. "That dart also contained a poison that will kill her in a few hours if I do not give her the antidote."

"Then give it to her now," Bruce said with a vicious bat-glare and a lethal tone. "Don't test me on this, Talia. I will take it from you if I have to."

"I do not doubt you Beloved. Unfortunately I'm sure this harpy has her claws in you deep enough to make you turn on even me" Talia responded as she gave Diana a disgusted look. "But I will destroy the antidote before you can take it. If you want her to live, she will have to come with me."

Diana tried to tell him not to worry about her, to just take Talia down, but she couldn't seem to form words and her mind was so foggy she wasn't sure what to say. She looked up at Bruce and saw the concern on his face.

His scanner beeped several times and Bruce began to grin.

"I don't think so, Talia" Bruce said as he took a small pill from a cylinder on his belt and pushed it into Diana's mouth. "I've analyzed the toxin, and I recognize it as one your father has used against me before. I already have the antidote."

Diana's head began to clear, but she still felt incredibly weak. She could see Talia's expression grow angry.

A blast of energy knocked Bruce from his feet as the Electrocutioner stood and roused Star Sapphire.

Diana pushed herself to her feet, but Talia hit her with a round house kick knocking her back down. Normally it wouldn't have fazed her, but as weak as she was, it left her struggling to stay conscious.

Talia grabbed the trident and Star Sapphire engulfed the group and began to carry them away.

"Stop! We need to get the Amazon!" Talia yelled.

"'Fraid not love," Star Sapphire replied while continuing their retreat. "The Bat is back on his feet and the Princess is regaining her strength. The charges are set to go off in about nine minutes; we don't have time for another battle."

Bruce started to run after them and Diana tried to follow, but collapsed back to the floor after just a few steps. Bruce quickly turned back to help her.

"No!" Diana protested. "Leave me! You have to get them and the Trident!"

"We've got bigger problems right now," Bruce responded as he helped her to her feet. "We need to find those bombs and get out of here."

Diana must have blacked out because the next thing she knew he was putting her into a seat in the bat-sub they'd used to come to Atlantis.

"Bruce, we have to go after the bombs!"

"I will. You are in no condition to help right now" Bruce replied. "You get the sub clear and I'll signal you to pick me up when it's safe."

"When Tartarus freezes! I'm com-" She was cut off when her lips were crushed by his. She was still dizzy from the drugs, but she was sure that kiss would have made her head spin anyway.

When he broke the kiss he moved quickly out the air lock. She moved to follow him only to find that he had used her lasso to tie her to the chair while she was distracted with the kiss.

"Bruce!" She yelled as she tried to quickly untie herself.

"Be safe Princess" he replied as the airlock sealed and he hit a button on his belt activating the auto pilot of the sub.

"Dammit Bruce!" she hollered.

She wanted to break out of the sub and go after him, but she was still so weak that she wasn't sure she had the strength and would likely drown.

"Be careful," Diana whispered, more as a prayer then for him to hear.

Diana watched out the window as the sub took her a safe distance away. Her body healed fast and with the mix of adrenalin and the antidote Bruce had given her, she could already feel herself recovering from the sedative.

It had been about four minutes since Bruce had left her, and no explosion. She let out a sigh of relief and as if it had been on cue, the moment she relaxed a huge explosion rocked the side of the Atlantian royal palace.

Diana took the controls of the sub and steered it back to the palace. She forced down all her worry for Bruce. Panicking would do him no good. He was the Batman, if anyone could find a way to survive, it was him.

As she approached the palace she saw his black shrouded figure floating towards her. He was wearing his rebreather, and his suit offered him some protection, but his body wouldn't last long in the pressure at these depths.

She moved the sub in quickly and retrieved him. The airlock doubled as a pressure chamber and the computer automatically drained the water and properly re-pressurised quickly, but to Diana, it seemed like it took hours. When the door finally opened she raced in.

_Thank Hera!_ She thought when she saw he was still breathing.

"Couldn't…" Bruce began weakly before his cough interrupted him. "Couldn't find the last bomb" he finished.

Diana looked out the window of the airlock at the palace. Although it had a rather large hole in the side, overall the damage looked minimal.

"You saved the palace, Bruce" Diana told him as she held his head on her lap comforting him. "But if you ever pull something like that again, I'll break your legs!"

"Wouldn't dream of it, Princess" Bruce said weakly with a grin on his face.

Diana helped Bruce into the storage area and laid him down. He tried to fight her, but lost consciousness as soon as his head hit the makeshift pillow.

Diana was thankful for the sub's autopilot, she was still feeling exhausted herself and could use the travel time to rest. She set it to head for New Jersey where the last relic was being held by Cadmus. Hopefully Talia wouldn't strike there until tomorrow.

Diana knew she and Bruce were in no condition to face her troops again, but she also knew Talia's people would be in bad shape too. She was sure she had broken at least one of Star Sapphire's ribs and she knew Bruce's assault had left Deadshot bloody and likely with a few broken bones. Hopefully Cadmus would be considered too difficult of a target to take on with her normal non-meta commandos.


	12. Chapter 11

Bruce revelled in the feel of her skin against him. Their bodies pressed tightly together, separated only by the thin sheen of sweat over each of them. Her body was muscular, athletic and very feminine. Perfect coke bottle curves, voluptuous firm breasts and amazingly toned and defined legs that seemed to go on forever and demanded his full attention. She was truly a goddess and he would enjoy worshiping every millimetre of her with his eyes, his hands and his mouth. To call her beautiful was an insult. It pained him that there was not a word capable of describing her accurately.

When she moaned his name it sent a rush through his body like none he'd ever felt. Her eyes were glazed over with pleasure as she bit her lower lip. Bruce's own pleasure was so intense he had to fight to keep his eyes open. He didn't want to miss a moment of being with her.

As he drew his hand slowly up the naked skin of her body and she shivered with desire for him, he moved his face close to hers. His eyes locked on her luscious ruby lips, wanting nothing more than to taste them. As her hands fisted in his hair to pull him down to those lips, he took in the exotic smell of her. The sweet scent of his princess, the mouth-watering scent of… _bacon?_

His eyes shot open and quickly darted around the room, taking in his surroundings. He was on the couch of the small townhouse they had rented for the night. It had been nothing more than a dream. He could feel the sorrow and disappointment of not having been with her warring with the relief of knowing he hadn't given in to his desires and risked hurting her.

As Bruce sat up he could see Diana making breakfast - the bacon smell that had woken him. If he hadn't already been aroused from his dream, the sight of her would have done it. She was wearing just his tee-shirt as a night gown and it hung barely low enough to cover her as she danced to the radio. He watched her, in part from lust, but mostly in wonder. How could someone so perfect, someone who could be with _anyone_ they choose, want to be with him? Why did she still put up with him?

He could feel the logic of the Batman losing its war with the needs of Bruce the man. The need to hold her, to see her smile, to hear her laugh. The need to do _anything_ to make her happy. Was he in love with her? He tried not to analyze that question. He was afraid he knew the answer. But would giving in be so bad?

Like an answer to his question a new song began to play on the radio, its lyrics slamming him back to the reality of his situation.

'_I think you can do much better than me,_

'_after all the lies I made you believe.'_

All of his reasons came crashing back to the forefront of his mind and he gave himself a mental shake.

He remembered all of the lies he had told her whenever she was getting too close and pushing through his defenses. He remembered all the reasons he wasn't good for her, and he if he was honest with himself, he remembered how he feared what happiness would do to the Batman and his mission.

Diana noticed him watching her and smiled, "Good morning, sleepy head."

"It certainly is," Bruce said half to himself, still enjoying the view.

Diana looked a little confused, "Feeling better, then?"

Bruce forced himself to keep his eyes on her face, "Yes, thanks for dragging me to the couch last night."

Diana laughed, "I tried to drag you to the bed, but you refused."

"Bruce Wayne might have an image as a playboy but Alfred would kill me if I didn't have the manners to let the lady have the bed."

"Alfred is a classic gentleman," Diana said with a smile. "Come have a seat, your breakfast is ready. It won't live up to Alfred's standards though."

"Well I'm sure it beats anything I'd make," Bruce said, taking a seat at the small kitchen table. "Alfred has banned me from the kitchen."

As they sat and enjoyed breakfast, they made casual small talk. It was nice to feel almost like normal people for a little while. When they finished, Diana opened the laptop on the kitchen table.

"I called Barbra this morning," Diana informed him. "She setup satellite surveillance on the Cadmus installation, but we don't know where Talia is or when she'll strike."

"I have an idea," Bruce said, taking the laptop and logging into the bat-cave computers.

Bruce accessed his latest satellite project and used it to connect to the many seabed listening devices the US and European Union had installed in the Atlantic. He cross referenced it with ship and sub reports as well as satellite tracking.

Diana watched him work intently before asking, "What is 'Brother Eye'?"

"It's a satellite project I've been working on for a few years," Bruce explained. "I only launched it recently."

"Bruce, you just pulled up DoD, CIA, NASA and European systems with a few key strokes," Diana said in a very regal voice. "The League doesn't even have that kind of access and I very much doubt they know you have access."

"It's just an information tool," Bruce defended. There was no need for Diana to know its exact purpose. "But to the point, I think I've found Talia's sub. She doesn't appear to be taking a direct route here."

Diana gave him a look that let him know the discussion wasn't over, then looked to the screen that had Talia's path mapped out. "It looks like she's holding outside Atlantic City. That seems a bad place to sneak into the country."

"With the money Talia and her father throw around, they won't need to sneak in. They'll just buy their way in."

"So what's our move?" Diana asked. "Cadmus won't exactly be helpful if we just call to let them know there's about to be an attack on their secret installation that we not only know about, but know its location and what's stored there."

"Even if we put them on high alert, they wouldn't stand a chance against Talia and her people," Bruce replied. "We need to get ourselves inside."

"We could call in the League," Diana suggested. "Right now I don't think it would matter if there is a leak. Talia will already be expecting us."

"No, if we bring the League down around a government installation, even for its protection, elements of the media would construe it as us taking control. It wouldn't be long before whether or not we're an army on to ourselves would become a front burner issue again, and that's something we can't afford."

"So it's just you and me again," Diana said with a devious grin. "I'm beginning to think you just like having me all to yourself."

Bruce began to worry that she was right. He did like having her to himself, but worse than that, he trusted her. He trusted her too much. Anyone else would call in Superman. Anyone else would know that there are a dozens of more powerful heroes that could do a lot more to stop meta-humans out to bring genocide to the world then a simple man in a cape. But Bruce wasn't someone else. He trusted the others, the Justice League… but only to a point.

When it was all on the line, when it was win or die… the Batman trusted only the Batman. The League, the Bat-clan; he trusted them with his life. But when it came to everyone's lives it was only in the Batman he trusted. Suddenly he was starting to trust Diana.

Diana must have picked up on his hesitation. She could read him like no one else.

"Well don't worry Bruce," she told him. "I make a pretty good partner, if I do say so myself."

Bruce glanced to where her armour was hanging and grinned, "Do you have anything in black?"


	13. Chapter 12

Diana was a little suspicious at how fast Bruce was able to get her a dark costume to wear. This part of New Jersey wasn't far from Gotham, so it was not surprising that Alfred was able to make it to them so quickly, but the sleek black leather and nomex body suit was tailored to fit her, and there was no way Alfred was _that_ fast.

She wondered at first if it was one of Catwoman's outfits and scolded herself for being jealous of Bruce's relationship with the sultry thief. Diana was taller and far more muscular than Catwoman so there was no way this was one of her costumes nor could it be Batgirl's for the same reason.

It was a tight black body suit that had a zipper up the front, that she only zipped to her cleavage to keep cool, and if she was honest, to tease Bruce a little. She wore black heeled boots that were practically exact copies of her normal boots, with the exception of the colour, and black gloves. The outfit came with a belt and mask that looked to be borrowed from the Huntress.

Diana hated to hide her identity, as it went against her warrior nature. But both she and Bruce agreed that the Batman being caught at a government installation could be easily dismissed as he was only a part time member of the League and, because of his lack of powers, he was usually dismissed by media and politicians as not being a real threat. Wonder Woman however would be a different story. She was a public figure who often made appearances for charities and to encourage peace. She was also feared by many for being so powerful. The League couldn't have her being caught breaking into a top secret military facility. So she would wear the mask, and hide her uniform.

"How do I look?" Diana said as she stepped from the bedroom and did a small twirl.

"I do believe you could wear a trash bag and still look elegant your Highness," Alfred said with a smile. He was kind and gentle and Diana couldn't help but smile at his charm.

Diana felt her face redden a little as she noticed Bruce's expression. She had seen many lustful expressions on men's faces as they looked at her since coming to Man's World, but she had learned to dismiss them. It was different with Bruce. He showed emotion like this so rarely and now she had seen it in his face twice in two days.

"You look fine and I doubt anyone will recognize you as Wonder Woman," Bruce finally managed to force out a bit to Diana's disappointment. She could see the man fighting with the bat again. Still she could see the desire in his eyes and her body responded accordingly.

Diana had decided to take Shayera's advice and just move on, to forget about Bruce. But when he looked at her like that… her mind just seemed to shut down and Hera, she wished he'd stop fighting himself and just kiss her!

They just looked at each other for a long moment before she remembered Alfred was still in the room and broke eye contact somewhat embarrassed.

Bruce quickly brought things back to the point. "Alfred, I'll need you to keep an eye on the uplink and let us know if you see Talia make her move."

"Assuming she hasn't already," Diana added.

"As you wish, Sir" Alfred answered.

"Diana and I will slip into the Cadmus installation and secure the last relic."

Diana had her doubts. There was no one better then Bruce when it came to tactics and they were both skilled warriors, but Talia seemed to have brought in several metas to help her and they were just too outgunned. Bruce knew it too.

It was a dark and rainy day which was depressing, but worked well for them as they snuck past guards. Diana had never had to make this kind of stealthy entrance before. She was used to announcing her presence loudly by kicking in doors and walls, all this sneaking around was a little out of her comfort zone.

She had to admit it was impressive to watch the Batman work. He moved swiftly and in total silence. All her years hunting on the Island made her skilled at moving quietly and going unnoticed, but the Batman was practically invisible.

When they reached the store room that held Apollo's Bow, Bruce began to disable the security around it. They had navigated halls, tunnels and the ventilation system to get this far and had managed to go totally unnoticed, so she was a little surprised when the alarm sounded. Had they missed a camera? Had they been seen?

The sound of a large explosion in the distance gave her her answer; Talia was here.

"Sir, Madam, I've picked up a large explosion at your location and several meta-human bio-signatures," Alfred's voice informed them over the com-links.

"Meta-human bio-signatures?" Diana repeated at Bruce. He had said his satellite was an 'information tool'. Like Hades! Just what was that thing capable of?

"Can you identify?" Bruce said over the com, ignoring her question.

"Yes Sir" Alfred confirmed. "Star Sapphire, Bizarro, Atomic Skull, Killer Frost and Volcana. Also satellite imagery confirms Deadshot, Electrocutioner, Copperhead and Ms. Talia."

"We need to get the bow and get out of here quickly," Diana insisted compartmentalizing her thoughts about Bruce's super satellite for the time being. They both knew they wouldn't last long against a force like that.

"I don't think we're going to get the chance," Bruce said as he quickly placed the bow into a small air vent, high on the wall and replaced the grate. The vent was far too small to hide in themselves, but that might be able to keep Talia's forces searching long enough for Cadmus to call the League for help, _if their ego_ didn't stop them from making that call.

Bruce laid out a few quick traps and Diana pushed some of the crates together to give them cover and a somewhat defensible position. They could hear the commotion coming their way and knew they had only seconds. They were badly outnumbered and out gunned and they both knew it.

As they ducked behind the crates, Bruce took Diana's hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She looked up into his face and cursed his cowl for hiding his eyes from her. They didn't speak. That simple look said more than words ever could.

They both looked up as they heard Talia's forces get close. As they approached the doorway, Bruce set off several charges, one of which dropped a large part of the ceiling above him down on Atomic Skull, leaving him an unconscious heap on the floor.

Wonder Woman and the Batman emerged from behind the crates and began their assault. They intended to hit them hard and fast while they were in the bottle neck of the doorway. It wouldn't last long, they knew, but they might be able to thin their numbers a little.

Bizarro burst through the wall and went straight for Diana. She was able to put her foot up in time to catch him in the face and send him crashing into Electrocutioner, hard enough that she heard the cracking of his bones.

The Batman sent several batarangs flying at the oncoming Star Sapphire and Killer Frost. They easily swatted them away, but failed to notice the small spheres rolling at their feet. The gas they released left both women coughing and scrambling to get clear of the offending smoke. Bruce used the opportunity to launch himself at Killer Frost, grabbing her by the shoulders as he flipped over her and used his momentum to slingshot her into Star Sapphire and instantly followed with a bola that wrapped the two sirens together before they landed hard on the cement floor.

Diana deflected several bullets from Deadshot before Bizarro struck her in the abdomen, knocking the wind from her. As she hit the ground all she wanted to do was lay there and try to pull breath back into her aching lungs, but she was an Amazon. She rolled away from Bizarro's kick and exploded into an overhand right that knocked the monstrous creature across the room and through the wall. She used the momentary reprieve to swing around and launch a crate at Deadshot. It impacted with more force than the crate could withstand and it exploded sending shards of wood and pieces of whatever stone relic it had held, soaring through the air.

As Diana felt the heat from Volcana's approaching stream of fire, she turned to see the Batman swinging Copperhead by his tail before he released him into the air and snake tonged man collided with Volcana stopping the torrent of flames before they could make it through the nomex of Diana's outfit.

Volcana quickly fired a blast at Bruce that knocked him from his feet as she pushed the disgusting little man off her.

Before Diana could help, Bizarro charged at her again, hitting her so hard that she didn't remember hitting the floor. Her vision was swimming and she was having trouble getting to her feet. That problem was solved when Superman's deformed doppelganger grabbed her by the throat and lifted her into the air.

"You Bizarro's friend. Bizarro help you!" he said in his typical backwards speech pattern.

Diana was looking at the monster holding her, trying to get a breath past the hand clamped on her windpipe when she noticed he had a small device in his ear.

Both she and Bruce had wondered how Talia had managed to recruit Bizarro and get him to be far more focused than he normally was. Maybe this was how? Diana herself had been taken over by Sonar's device and forced to fight in a meta-brawl.

Diana didn't have time to debate with herself. Bizarro was on the verge of crushing her neck and she needed to make a move. Diana reached out with both arms and slammed the palms of her hands over his ears. She knew it would crush the device in his ear, and even if that wasn't enough to break his grip, the eardrum bursting pressure would be.

Bizarro hollered in pain as he dropped Diana before flying straight up through the ceiling. As Diana coughed for air she saw the angry look on Talia's face as she shouted for Bizarro to return and continually pounded on a small controller. Diana smiled, with Bizarro out of the fight, they might actually be able to win.

She didn't have time to catch her breath though. Volcana was already firing bursts of flame at her and Bruce had to shift from his pounding on Deadshot to deal with Star Sapphire and Killer Frost. The two women must have freed themselves while Diana was busy with Bizarro.

Diana sprang to her feet and lassoed Killer Frost as she was firing ice projectiles at a dodging Batman. She yanked the frozen fury across the room, and Batman took the opportunity to turn the tide on Star Sapphire.

Batman threw several small charges at Sapphire which she easily defended, but she mistakenly ignored the batarang that he had thrown 'wildly'.

"That wasn't even close, Love," Star Sapphire taunted. "Losing your touch in your old age."

Batman just grinned and as the batarang did what any good boomerang does; it returned. Colliding with Sapphire's head on its way back.

She crashed hard to the ground. As she looked up she saw the Batman's fist approaching, "Bloody he—".

Diana had her own battles to deal with as several fire balls came flying her way. She quickly dodged the blasts before using her lasso to fling Killer Frost at Volcana and charged in fast grabbing both of the elemental powered women and slamming their heads together.

Diana quickly used her lasso to restrain the unconscious women and glanced over to see Bruce doing the same to the remaining opponents. Only Talia was left.

Diana moved to subdue her when she was suddenly struck with a powerful purple energy that collapsed her to her knees. Pain seared through her body as she fought to keep from passing out. She looked up to see the witch Tala smugly grinning at her as she fired another blast of energy. Diana cringed as the blast approached her. The pain from the first blast was just beginning to dissipate, but she wasn't sure she'd be able to stay conscious through a second hit. Just before it hit, Bruce dove in front of her and absorbed the blast before crashing to the floor and convulsing in pain.

Diana's heart ached to comfort him, but she was a warrior first. She used the opening to pull her tiara from behind the mask that hid it, and launched it at Tala, hitting her in the face, inducing a scream of pain and a rush of blood from her no doubt broken nose. Diana charged as fast as she could and grabbed Tala. Slamming her into the wall, she ripped a large strip of metal panel and twisted it around the witch.

As she turned to deal with Talia, she froze. Talia was standing behind a freshly roused Deadshot. Deadshot had his wrist gun to an unconscious Bruce's head and Talia had a gun pointed at Diana.

"Surrender now or we will execute him" Talia spat.

"No you won't" Diana replied. She was worried for Bruce, but she knew Talia was still in love with him.

"She might not, but I will," Deadshot interjected. He was a sociopath and would have no trouble executing the Batman.

Diana was debating what she would do, when Bruce pulled a batarang and launched it into the ceiling; the ensuing explosion cut Diana off from their attackers.

"Hera no!" Diana hollered. He was doing it again! He was risking his life to protect her!

Her mind wandered back to all the times he'd done this before. From the missile in Gorilla City that he didn't bother to try to disarm, but instead tried to dig her out, to taking part of a blast of magic from Morgan Le Fay to fighting Kalibak after he had knocked her through a building. Every time she might have been hurt, but Bruce was the one that was likely to be killed!

She tore through the rubble to get to Bruce, but as quickly as she broke through, it was already too late and Talia and Bruce were gone. The air vent that had held Apollo's Bow was smashed open during the fight, and it appeared Talia took that too.

Diana had failed and worse, Bruce was going to pay the price.


	14. Chapter 13

Diana hadn't had time to interrogate any of the people Talia had left behind. She couldn't afford to be caught in a government installation illegally. She doubted any of them would know where Talia had taken Bruce anyway. Ra's, and by extension Talia, didn't trust hired help with their secrets.

She had tried to track Talia, but she was no were in sight. Talia was a member of the League of Assassins and that meant she knew how to disappear. Though how she and Deadshot had managed to do it while carrying two-hundred plus pounds of unconscious Bruce, was beyond her.

"Do not be too hard on yourself Miss Diana," Alfred reassured her. "I have the suspicion that Master Bruce allowed himself to be taken, rather than allowing Ms. Talia to escape with the relic and not have a way to find her."

"What?" Diana questioned. "Why would he do something so stupid!"

"It is a skill he has mastered Miss," Alfred said before turning the laptop to face her. "But I do believe the Batman has a plan."

On the screen the Brother Eye satellite displayed a bat shaped icon blinking as it moved across the global map. Currently it was entering Egypt.

"Perhaps it's time to call in your colleagues from the Justice League?" Alfred questioned.

"No, if the leak hears word that we're tracking Bruce, they'll search him for the tracer, destroy it and move him again. We might never find them," Diana knew her frustration was seeping into her voice. "They have all the relics now, so whatever their plan is, we're running out of time to stop them."

Diana was so angry with Bruce. He was always trying to protect her, when she didn't need it. He had let himself be captured and he had this ridiculous satellite. She was furious with him, and dammit, she was terrified for him. When she got him back she wasn't sure if she was going to hit him or kiss him, but the idea of doing both didn't seem out of the question.

Bruce's mind was hazy and his head was spinning, he had no idea where he was, but he could feel her lips on his. He hadn't been sure he would ever wake up, much less see her again. As much as he had tried to tell himself he didn't see Diana as anything but valued colleague and friend, when he was facing his death, the only thing he could think about was that he wouldn't see her again. He had to face facts. He was in love with her.

"Diana…" Bruce practically moaned her name.

A sudden hard slap jolted him awake. Still groggy, he could see Talia standing in front of him with a deadly look on her face. It had been her lips he had felt, not Diana's.

Bruce quickly tested his limbs, his arms and legs were spread and shackled to the wall. His body had been stripped down to the exercise boxer-briefs he wore under his uniform, and his cowl. He wasn't sure if she had left his cowl on out of respect or because she feared the traps he had set.

"Does that Amazon harlot have you so enthralled that you dream of her even when kissing me?" Talia almost spat the words in his face.

"Where is Ra's?" the Batman said.

"I have not yet told him you are here," Talia replied. "If I had, you would most likely be dead."

"You don't normally keep secrets from your father," Batman said. He needed to keep her talking while worked on his shackles.

"When my father achieves his immortality I will no longer be needed to provide him an heir and he may even consider me a liability," she explained.

"I see why you're so loyal to him…" Bruce replied sarcastically.

Talia gave him a disapproving look and then continued, "I have made a deal with Circe that will ensure I remain a valuable asset to him. You should be grateful, it is the reason you still live."

Bruce arched his eyebrow curiously. Circe wouldn't care about Ra's, Talia, or their agendas. What was the witch up to?

"What deal?" he asked.

"Circe will switch my mind with that of the Amazon tramp," Talia responded, her disgust for Diana seething through. "I will gain her powers, her immortality."

"And what does Circe get out of this deal?" Bruce asked, trying to bury his worry for Diana.

Talia hesitated slightly before replying, "Our first child."

"_Our_ child?" Bruce questioned.

"According to Circe the prophet Tiresias foresaw that you and the Amazon would bear a child that even the gods would fear. By taking her body, I will bear the child instead."

"I don't believe in prophecy," the Batman replied flatly.

"That does not matter," Talia dismissed. "All that matters is that my father's vision will come to pass and I will have the power and immortality to help him shape the new world."

Bruce sighed in disappointment. He had once cared greatly for Talia and it hurt him to see her fall so fully into insanity.

"Talia stop this madness," he pleaded, not for his sake, but for hers. "Circe can't be trusted. She has her own agenda."

"I do not trust her, our mutual needs and enemies, makes us partners for the time being," she rationalized. "Once I have the powers of the Amazon and my father commands the powers of the relics, we will no longer have need of her, and will be beyond her power."

Bruce's mind was churning at a dizzying pace. He had injected himself with an isotope that would allow Brother Eye to track him, and it was only a matter of time before Diana and Alfred figured it out. Would Diana call for help or would she worry about the leak and come alone? Either way, he doubted any of Talia's men would be able to stop Diana alone and he doubted just as much that even the entire Justice League would be able to stop Circe. Only Diana knew enough about her to face her in battle. He would have to do something to even the odds, and give Diana a chance.

"Talia dear, stop playing with the bait," Circe cut in. "Our quarry will be here soon. We must prepare."

"My men are prepared her," Talia answered confidently.

"I assure you, my dear, they are not," Circe replied smoothly. "You have never seen the fury of the gods champion. As long as we hold the man she loves, your forces will do little to slow her."

"That harlot does not know the meaning of love!" Talia hollered.

Circe grinned evilly, and Bruce could see she was playing with Talia. He wouldn't be surprised if she was using her magic to push Talia closer to insanity.

"Do not worry my friend," Circe cooed. "When you control her body and powers, the spell that binds the _bat_ man to her will instead bind him to you."

Bruce could see Talia had moved beyond reason. His only chance now was to get free of his shackles and get to his utility belt. After his last encounter with Circe he had picked up a few tricks from Zatanna and Dr. Fate that would hopefully give Diana a chance to beat her.

"I will call for Deadshot," Talia suggested. "The Amazon will never believe I would kill my Beloved, but she knows he would. She will surrender."

"She will not, but it will serve as a temporary distraction," Circe corrected. "Just be sure you can keep him controlled. We can't have him killing our bait before his purpose is served."

Bruce had to fight to keep from grinning. The Batman had broken Deadshot's arm and his nose twice.

Talia nodded her agreement as she left the room and Circe turned her attention to him.

"Soon my dear _Batman_, I will kill the daughter of Hippolyta and use her body to create a child feared by the gods," Circe said as she dragged her fingernails lightly along his bare chest. "A child that will kill Hippolyta, and combined with the power of the relics, will let me take my rightful role as a goddess!"

"You do know that Ra's will have planned for your double cross," the Batman informed her. "Getting those relics from him may not be as easy as you expect."

Circe's expression turned sultry as she moved close and ground her hips against him, "You are a cleaver one. You will make a good slave," she whispered seductively in his ear.

"Yours or Talia's?" he questioned.

"Is there a difference?" she replied smugly. "Talia is already my slave, even if she doesn't realize it. I own her, therefore I will own you."

"And what do you hope to gain from _owning_ me?"

"Besides the obvious?" she asked as she pushed herself against his groin. "What better way to punish your princess then to take the man she loves?"

"You're mistaken," Bruce replied. "Diana doesn't love me."

"Oh please!" Circe laughed. "I thought you were supposed to be a great detective? But don't worry. I'm sure even you will be able to see it when her heart breaks as I take you _willingly_ in front of her."

Circe laughed, slapping him on the ass before she turned and walked away. Leaving Bruce alone, unguarded and angry.

"Big mistake," Bruce thought to himself as he unlocked the first shackle.


	15. Chapter 14

Diana landed in front of cliff face that housed Ra's Al Ghul's secret base with a thud that shook the ground and sent a dust cloud out in all directions like a great wave. Over her Wonder Woman armour she wore the traditional war armour of the Amazons; Brass coloured shin guards were strapped over her boots, and her metal war skirt hung to her mid thighs. She wore heavy shoulder guards and an intimidatingly shaped helmet. At her waist a magnificent short sword was sheathed on one side, and her lasso stowed on the other. In her hand she held a massive battle axe crafted for her by Hephaestus, a weapon far too heavy for any three normal men to lift.

In front of her Talia and Circe stood smugly.

"Impressive, Amazon wench," Talia taunted. "Looking like that I'm sure Heracles and his men would have chosen you to be among the first they made moan like whores."

Diana knew her words were meant to enrage her, and it worked, but she would not allow her rage to take over. She would use it as a weapon instead.

Diana looked out at the sea of men and women standing between her and the women she wanted so badly to feel in her grip. There had to be three hundred of them.

"Do you honestly think your 'league of assassins' will save you from me?" Diana said, twisting her battle axe in her grip.

"Oh I think they might be up to the challenge," Circe replied with a grin before releasing a wave of magic that lit the men and women before her with a blinding light, changing them into fierce beast men.

Talia's face formed an evil grin, "You are alone, wench. Not even the powerful Wonder Woman can defeat an army such as this."

Diana returned her own evil grin, "Who said I was alone?"

On cue a hail of arrows rained into the canyon from the opposite cliff, and a hundred of the finest Amazon warriors charged in from further down the gaping chasm scarring the desert. Diana's dramatic entrance had drawn attention away from their approach.

"Kill them!" Talia shouted, her face twisted with rage.

"Amazons, avenge our fallen sisters!" Phillipus shouted.

The Amazon warriors raised their shields to form a perfect phalanx that spanned the full width of the narrow canyon and a dozen archers continued to rain down arrows on the army of beast-men.

Diana lifted her battle axe and charged through the enemy lines, using all the gifts her gods had given her. Each swing of her mighty axe levelled anything in its path. She didn't have time for fineness; she had to get to Bruce before it was too late. She had to retrieve the spear that meant so much to her people, and she had to punish Circe, Talia and Ra's Al Ghul for the death of her sisters, and so many other innocents.

Beastman after beastman fell to her axe. Soon there were so many charging her that she dropped her axe and switched to her much quicker sword. Diana had trained with a blade all her life and few were her match in the style of the ancient Grecians. Since coming to man's world she had spent a good deal of time training with Bruce in the arts of other cultures as well, making her one of the finest swordswomen the world had ever seen.

Diana hacked attacking arms free from their owners and removed legs of any that stood in her path. She believed too strongly in what the Justice League stood for to kill unless she absolutely had to, but each of these men and women were murderers. That was a requirement for joining the league of assassins. She felt no guilt for injuries she was causing them. Most were unlikely to survive once Circe was done with them anyway.

When Diana made it to the massive entrance of the base, she was welcomed by a hail of bullets and blasts from energy cannons. There was enough firepower to make the US army jealous, but Diana was angry and determined. Nothing on Earth or Olympus was going to be enough to stop her.

Diana threw her sword into the first energy cannon and used all the speed of Hermes to dodge and deflect any attacks as she ploughed through the remaining cannons and soldiers.

"Circe!" Diana hollered. "Come out and face me!"

"You have enough to worry about with me, Amazon whore!" Talia shouted as she fired a shoulder missile.

Diana easily dodged the attack, but the support beam wasn't so lucky and a large part of the roof began to collapse.

Diana hurled her tiara at Talia only to have it impact against an energy shield a few feet short of its attended target.

"Did you think I would be unprepared for you?" Talia mocked as she began firing an energy weapon that Diana recognized as being Apokoliptain technology.

Diana dodged the attacks with the speed and agility provided by a lifetime of training and unleashed a punch on the energy shield that caused it to fluctuate wildly.

"I don't care what preparations you've made, you crazy bitch," Diana said with a deadly glare that would rival the best bat-stare. "You are not prepared for _**me**_!"

From the look in Talia's eyes she realized her shield wouldn't be enough to save her, and retreated down a hallway, deeper into the cliff.

It took Diana nearly two minutes to break through the shield and follow after her. When she reached the end of the hall she was greeted by there more beastmen that she made quick work of before she caught sight of Talia and Deadshot again standing over an unconscious Bruce.

"And here we are again,"Deadshot laughed. "This time, please let me shoot him!"

"Enough," Talia interrupted. "Surrender yourself or Mr. Lawton will execute him."

Diana knew better than to think surrender was a real option or that Bruce would forgive her if she did, but Floyd Lawton was a certifiable psychopath and pull the trigger at the slightest twitch. What choice did she have?

She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling when she heard the 'unconscious' Batman beginning to count down from three in a voice so low no one without super-hearing would hear.

At the count of one, Bruce grabbed Deadshot's one good arm and flipped him to the floor with a loud crack that Diana was sure was his ulna. Simultaneously Diana charged at super-speed, hitting Talia with a right hook that took all her restraint to keep toned down to non-lethal force.

As she turned away from the unconscious bitch, she glared at Bruce. She was torn between rage, joy and lust. The bastard had practically thrown his life away so she could find Ra's and Circe, she was so relieved that he was alright, and he was standing there in nothing but his boxer-briefs and cowl, showing off his perfectly sculpted body.

She walked over to him and slapped him across the face. Not hard enough to do any real damage, but enough that he knew he'd be hit.

"I suppose I deserved that…" Bruce said.

"You did," Diana replied before wrapping her arms around his neck and crushing her lips against his.

She was nearly breathless when she finally broke the kiss.

"You deserved that too," Diana said with a smile.

Bruce stood there staring into her eyes for a long moment before she saw the Batman take over.

"We need to get moving," Bruce said. "Circe went down the east hallway about seven minutes ago. She'll be after the relics."

Diana put her feelings and frustrations aside and set her mind on stopping the witch and retrieving the Spear of Athena.

As Diana restrained Talia and Deadshot she called over her shoulder, "You should probably put some clothes on."

By the time she turned to look at Bruce, he was already fastening his cape.

"I already retrieved my uniform before you arrived," Bruce answered her unspoken question. "You got here a little sooner than I expected so I had to play possum."

As they moved down the hallway they were greeted by a few more beastmen that were quickly dispatched. Upon entering the room at the end of the hall, Bruce unleashed three batarangs at Circe's back only to have change them into small birds that flew harmlessly away.

"Slow learners I see," Circe mocked. "A pig was too good for you. This time I think I'll turn you into a bug and perhaps your boyfriend will be happiest truly being a bat."

"Enough with the threats Circe," Bruce scolded. "We both know you need us for your plans."

"Oh, I have no plans to kill you, at least not yet," Circe replied. "I simply need you out of my way while I retrieve the four relics."

"Why work to make Ra's Al Ghul immortal if you just planned to betray him?" Bruce asked.

Circe laughed, "The fool thought I was giving him the power from those ancient toys. In truth I was syphoning any residual magic in them to supplement my own powers."

"I've heard enough!" Diana interjected. "Surrender now Circe and I won't have to hurt you too badly."

"Foolish girl!" Circe laughed. "You are no threat to me!"

With that Circe fired a bolt of magic at Diana, but it harmlessly dissipated.

"I'm ready for you this time witch!"


	16. Chapter 15

Batman dodged the massive stone claw as it repeatedly tried to slash him and left a sea of destruction in its wake. Circe quickly learned that Bruce and Diana had come prepared with moly potions rendering Circe's direct magical attacks nearly useless.

However, being unable to attack directly by no means meant the witch wasn't dangerous. She transmuted rocks and metal into monsters that attacked with abandon and her kinetic blasts sent dangerous shrapnel flying in all directions and destroyed their footings.

_I hate magic!_ Bruce thought, as he dodged the massive jaws of Cerberus' stone doppelganger. The '_real'_ Cerberus, according to myth, was guarding the gates of Tartarus and was keeping any dead spirits and demons from escaping the underworld. If this stone version was any indication, Bruce was in no hurry to meet the real thing.

The massive beast was a dog like creature with three heads, the claws of a lion and a snake for a tail. It was nearly six meters tall and moved remarkably fast for such a huge beast.

"Ooh that was close. Are you getting tired little man? I hope my little beastie doesn't hurt any parts I might want to use later. You seem like a rather delicious mortal," Circe cackled, admiring the monstrosity she had raised from the stone floor of the room and muscular man fighting it.

Diana had her own problems in the form of a stone Hydra. True to the myths, it had seven heads on long necks that were attached to an almost alligator like body. Though most alligators weren't ten meters long, with legs that were proportionately longer, which gave it an almost Jurassic look.

Diana had her lasso around the monster's neck, but the grotesque creature was so powerful, that it looked more like it had her, than vice-versa. She was struggling mightily to rein in the beast, but she was being tossed around like a rag doll.

Bruce had again just managed to dodge a huge paw from the Cerberus at the last moment, but the near miss sent shards of stone flying in all directions and created a large crater. Circe was right, he couldn't keep dodging this monster for long. He needed to change the game.

Firing his grapple around a ceiling beam, the Batman swung over the vicious jaws of the charging hound of Hades and dropped onto its back. He knew he'd only have seconds to make his move. Quickly he drew two bladed batarangs and jammed one in each side of the hounds centre head. Using the batarangs as a make shift steering wheel, he turned the huge beast towards the Hydra attacking Diana and jumped away just before the two massive stone monsters collided.

The collision was fierce, but not enough to destroy the creatures. Bruce threw several explosive pellets at the Cerberus' legs and Diana took a sword from a display on the wall and proceeded to begin hacking at the Hydra's limbs. True to the myth for each head she removed, the Hydra grew two to replace it, but it didn't grow new legs.

As the two massive constructs tried to move with their limbs missing, both Bruce and Diana attacked the creatures' underbellies, aiming for where the heart should have been. When the killing blow was made, the huge stone beasts became nothing more than huge piles of rubble.

"Aw, you destroyed my pets," Circe said with a pout then smiled. "I guess I'll have to try something different."

With a wave of the witch's hand, a small army of rock men rose from the bedrock. Each creature was about three meters tall and no doubt weighed close to a ton.

The large smile on Circe's face told Bruce she could keep this up all day and she would enjoy every minute of their suffering. They needed to change strategies.

"Diana, do you have any more of that moly potion?" Bruce asked.

Diana reached into a tiny pouch on the back of her belt and threw Bruce a small vile.

"Buy me some time," Bruce called to his partner.

Diana simply nodded. She was still holding a sword in her right hand and her lasso in her left. The look on her face told Bruce she was having a bad day and those rock monsters didn't stand a chance.

Bruce wasted no time drawing a bola from his belt and using the moly potion to saturate it. With the last of the potion gone, he began making his way through the dozens of rock men. Bruce didn't want to take a direct route to Circe, since she could easily stop him if she saw his approach. He had to make his way close enough that he could get a clear shot at her, but without looking like that was what he was trying to do.

Diana was tearing through the stone soldiers almost as fast as Circe could raise them. She was a magnificent sight to watch. A fierce warrior, a graceful princess and a beautiful woman. Watching her in the heat of battle was like watching a sunset on the horizon. No matter how many times you saw it, it still left you in awe of this miracle of nature.

Bruce made his way through the battlefield, cutting down any rock men that were too close with an extended batarang and dodging others with acrobatics that would have made Dick proud. When he finally got a clear line, he quickly released the bola at Circe. He could only hope that the potion from the small vile would be enough.

As the bola impacted against the purple haired witch, it wrapped around her several times and sent her crashing to the floor. When she hit the ground, the army of stone soldiers crumbled into dust.

"It's over, Circe!" Diana spat as she flew over to her, pointing her sword at the witch's throat. "You've lost."

"Have I?" Circe said with angry eyes and a cruel smile. "I may not get the child I want now, but neither will you, my dear little princess. The gods will never risk having a child born that may someday be powerful enough to destroy them."

Diana's face was twisted with rage, "That's only if we believe you and your so called prophecy. Who says I even want to have a child!"

"Oh darling I know you do," Circe replied with a smug grin. "I can see it as clearly as the love between you and him. Eventually you'll have to deal with the reality that you both want a child together and then you will have to either come to me to shield you from the gods or live with the fear and eventual pain of knowing that _any_ child you conceive will not be allowed to come to term." Circe let out a cruel laugh, "Either way, _I win_."

Bruce could see the pain and anger raging in Diana as she grabbed the witch and hit her with a punch so hard that it sent her flying a good three meters into the wall behind her. Unfortunately it also freed her from the moly soaked bola and the witch quickly made her escape in a puff of smoke. Bruce really hated magic and that cruel bitch who wielded it so maliciously.

"Diana," Bruce said lightly as he took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. He saw the fear that Circe had managed to seed into her mind. "Whatever the future holds; whatever _our_ future holds, we'll deal with it and it _will not_ be dictated to us by a conniving witch who lies as often as she takes breath into her body."

Bruce looked deep into her sky blue eyes, eyes that he could easily lose himself in, and then before he could even register what he was doing, he pulled her in against him and for the very first time, _he_ kissed _her._

When they finally broke the kiss, Diana was staring into his eyes and he could see her fiery resolve was as fierce as ever. The kiss had only lasted a minute but it simultaneously felt like it lasted forever and not nearly long enough.

"Come on," Diana said. "Let's find Ra's. He has a price to pay for killing my sisters and stealing a sacred artefact from my homeland."


	17. Chapter 16

It didn't take long to find Ra's Al Ghul in the underground cavern that constituted his hideout. He would never be too far from his Lazarus pits. Unfortunately their attack was quickly interrupted when, with a wave of Ra's hand, a wall of fire ignited across the room, blocking their advance.

"Ah, Detective, you're just in time to see me become a god," Ra's boasted. "And I see you brought me quite the offering. She will make a lovely concubine," he added insultingly while giving Diana a look of sheer lust.

The look of contempt on Diana's face would have stopped most men in their tracks. "Your ex-girlfriend and her daddy are, to quote the Flash, completely looney tunes," she quipped while her eyes took on a deadly gleam.

Bruce shot her a brief glare, mostly for quoting Wally, she thought, as he assessed the situation.

Ra's Al Ghul was standing on a platform high above where Diana and Bruce were standing. He was guarded by a dozen of his Ubu clan servants, all of whom where armed with electrified staffs that were capable of firing a localized blast of energy from either end.

"I would rather snuggle a twelve headed hydra than the likes of you," Diana growled. This was the monster that ordered the death of her sisters and defiled Athena's temple.

"I will be happy to arrange that after I become the god I was always meant to be. Breaking you will be an enjoyable past time and I will have an eternity to amuse myself!" Ra's shot back smugly as he was full of power at the moment.

"Ra's, Circe's betrayed you," Bruce taunted, buying them time to get a read on the situation. "Your plan has failed."

"Oh but I assure you it has not," Ra's replied with smirking amusement. "Circe's betrayal was predictable and counter measures were planned. Come now Detective, I have read Homer's The Odyssey from the ancient texts so I knew well who I was dealing with. I long ago had what I needed from her and she only remained because the best weapon against any enemy, is another enemy."

Diana could see the four missing relics locked into a machine behind the crazed madman. Each one was locked in a metal and glass encasement and positioned around a central device. The positioning of the relics was similar to the arrangement used for the power transfer spell Diana had seen described in the files Zatanna had given Bruce during his research, which meant the central device likely contained a part of Ra's. Probably a blood sample.

"You hope to channel the power of the gods with your machines?" Diana questioned. "The love of power is the demon of men. All you will gain is an express trip to Tartarus and the caretaker there is less than friendly to deluded men such as yourself."

"I see why you hold this woman in such high esteem, Detective," Ra's replied coolly. "A true man wants two things in life-danger and play and for that reason he wants a woman for they are the most dangerous of playthings. You have taken it to a whole new level by choosing a demigoddess with half a brain." He was staring at her with lustrous eyes and a wicked grin that sickened Diana's stomach. "I have no fear of what hell brings," Ra's continued. "In heaven, all of the interesting people are missing."

Diana whispered loudly out of the side of her mouth, "He really is out of his mind if he thinks dealing with Hades is fun."

"Absolutely," Batman replied back to her adding, "And very dangerous. So be careful."

She flashed him a quick smile for his concern but turned her focus back to trying to find a way to destroy the center of the machine and making the bastard pay for her sisters' deaths.

"And if you do channel the powers of the 'gods', what do you hope to accomplish?" Bruce questioned. "You'll kill millions in a vain hope that it will make the world a better place?"

"Come now Detective, you know better than to try and bait me," Ra's replied. "Man has polluted, strip mined and clear cut this planet to the brink of destruction. He has forever extinguished many of Mother nature's creatures and all in the name of profit. You strive to save the lives of those who do not deserve it. I now command the power of the relics! The power of the sun, earth and oceans and the knowledge and wisdom of Athena allows me to use them!"

"The mission to protect Gaia is a noble one, Ra's" Diana said, "but you don't need to murder to do it! Have some faith in humanity. With proper guidance people can change for the better." She knew reasoning with this madman was impossible but she would always try and at the very least it would buy them some more time.

"Ha! Faith is not wanting to see the truth. I lived during the bubonic plague in Europe, watched tens of thousands of people die in it grasp, and I saw how the world became all the better for it. It was a renaissance for the world and far more efficient than trying to change the attitudes of fools," Ra's stated with a harsh laugh. "You preach hope, but fail to understand that hope, in reality, is the worst of all evils. It serves only to prolong the torments of man."

"The torments of man are what make us who we are," Batman rebutted. "Strength of will isn't determined by the nice things in life or by doing what's easy. Its determined by what pain we endure, and turn to our advantage."

"You truly would have made a fine heir, Detective, if not for you're obsession with the weak," Ra's replied. "It is the weakness of an eight year old boy, still weeping over the bodies of his parents."

"After more than four centuries of life, I'd have thought you'd have learned that protecting those in need is a strength, not a weakness," Batman shot back.

"All things are subject to interpretation, Detective," Ra's answered. "Whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power, not truth."

"And you believe you now have the power to dictate truth?" Diana questioned sardonically.

"You may be a demigod, my dear," Ra's said with fire in his eyes as the ground rose under him, lifting him higher on a pedestal of stone. "But I am a god! Bow and and praise me and I just might let you live."

"The gods and goddesses breathed life into my body. I have known true gods my whole life and let me assure you; you are no god. You are just a pathetic man with delusions of grandeur and I will never kneel before the twisted likes of you," Diana hissed as she lifted her sword.

"I refuse to believe in any god who demands to be praised," Batman replied resolutely. "You are no god, just a man and as imperfect as any other."

Batman unleashed a batarang at the so called 'god'. The batarang impacted on another Apokoliptic shield protecting Ra's, and released a massive bloom of smoke, providing cover for Diana and Bruce to make a move.

"You believe your god is so righteous?" Ra's asked rhetorically. "Ask yourself this: Is man one of God's blunders? Or is God one of man's?"

Ra's illustrated his point in dramatic fashion as he unleashed an explosion of fire and rock, shifting the very earth beneath their feet.

"Now you begin to understand the true power I wield," Ra's laughed. It was obvious he was more interested in putting on a display of power than actually killing them. At least for the time being.

"Amazons, attack!" Phillipus hollered from the back of the room.

Diana turned to see her sisters charging through the massive open room, using the huge pillars that supported the ceiling as cover from the energy blasts of the Ubu staffs.

"Women!" Ra's scoffed. "God's second mistake." With a quick clenching of his fist, the floor below the charging Amazons exploded, sending them flying into the air. Without giving them the chance to land, his arm shot out, sending a stream of fire that left several of Diana's sisters dead or burning.

"Phillipus, get our sisters out of here!" Diana yelled. "He's too powerful and he is prepared for our weaponry. You must retreat and let Batman and myself handle this monster!"

"You expect us to run from battle? We are Amazons!" Phillipus protested.

"General, you need to get your troops out of here." Batman cut in. "A large group will only make for a large target. We have a better chance of stopping him on our own."

Seeing an Amazon archer moving a little too much into the open, Batman fired his grapple line and swung over to her, scooping her up just in time to avoid an energy bast. He let a batarang fly that exploded against the ceiling dropping a large amount of stone and debris down on Ra's head. The falling rubble didn't penetrate the shield, but the distraction bought enough time for Batman and the Amazon archer to get to cover.

"You expect me to yield to the orders of this... man?" Phillipus said with annoyance in her voice as she looked at Diana. "How is he to do battle? He is mortal! He does not even have the blessings of the gods!"

Diana glanced over to Batman and watched him drop three of Ra's Ubu clan guards, "He is blessed in more ways than you know," Diana said with a small smile. "Please, get our sisters to safety. We will make this monster pay and recover Athena's spear!"

"As you wish Princess," Phillipus conceded. "I will order them to fall back, but I am staying. You need more help than some mortal male dressed as a rodent!"

"No, I need you to have faith in your princess to stop this pathetic man like I have faith in you to lead our sisters to safety," Diana stated in a regal tone that brooked no arguments.

"As you wish your highness," Phillipus acquiesced with a fierce look while calling for her sisters to retreat.

Diana dodged another blast from Ra's and watched as he laughed, drunk with power. She wasn't kidding when she had said that she knew gods. As flawed as the Olympians were, they were born gods and they understood their power.

She could see how the power of the Lazarus pits had corrupted his mind and now the godlike power he'd obtained was now pushing him further over the edge. He could obtain the power of a god, but it wouldn't change the fact that he was just a man wielding it. Diana knew it was this weakness that would lead to his eventual defeat and smiled as she worked her way toward him.


	18. Chapter 17

There had to be some way to get through that shield! He knew Diana could break through it with sheer brute force if she was allowed to stand there and beat on it, but with the power Ra's was wielding she'd be slaughtered before she even began to weaken it.

Bruce hadn't been able to equip for this fight. He was still carrying the gear he needed to break into Cadmus, not to deal with Ra's and Apokoliptain technology. Nothing in his arsenal would be capable of penetrating that shield quickly enough that Ra's wouldn't have time to stop him.

As he fought his way through another wave of Ra's Ubu clan, he calculated a dozen possible scenarios until he finally found one that he thought had a reasonable chance of working.

"Diana, I have an idea, but I'm going to need some time," Bruce called to her over the comm link. "Do you think you can keep him distracted?"

"I don't think that will be a problem," Diana answered. Bruce had seen that Ra's' lustful gaze had barely left her body throughout the entire battle. He could understand why as Diana in battle ranked as one of the sexiest things he had ever seen. Normally he would see this as a tactical advantage, in this case though, it was just one more reason to get that shield down and pound the son of a bitch into submission. The thought of him touching her... still he knew he could rely on her to give him the time he needed.

Bruce requisitioned one of the Ubu's energy staffs and, taking cover behind a massive pillar, began the process of jury-rigging it to one of his electric charge batarangs.

"If you're so godlike, why do you hide behind a shield?" he heard Diana taunt the madman.

"Come now Amazon, do you really expect me to be baited so easily?" Ra's dismissed her. "I am no fool, a god will use any power or defense to his advantage, just as your gods use you."

"True, I am Athena's champion and an example of their great power. Though for all your talk, you are simply a scared little man using stolen relics to pretend to be one of them," Diana spat, continuing her assault on what remained of Ra's guards. "My gods would not be afraid to face me in battle but you are afraid of a woman like me."

"I fear nothing! Least of all a woman," Ra's boasted. "Do you really expect your childish taunts to persuade me to lower my defences?" Ra's asked, then suddenly began scanning the room. "No, you don't, do you? You're buying time for the Detective. A simple distraction."

"No, I am telling you why I will never bow before you. You are no god and you have no idea how to handle the power you have now. It will destroy you but I plan to stop you before you hurt more people like my sisters," she yelled as she dodged another of his fireballs.

Bruce knew he was almost out of time. The electronics of the staff were complicated and merging them in any meaningful way with his batarang required complicated engineering that would be at the edge of his abilities in a controlled lab, much less in a crumbling ancient fortress under attack from a madman wielding the power of the so called 'gods' of ancient Greece.

"Besides, I don't need to distract you little man," Diana mocked, as she tore through two more Ubu's, throwing each of them hard against Ra's' protective barrier. "I have had my whole life to master my abilities and I know it's only a matter of time before I break through that shield, and then you'll have nothing left to hide behind."

"Be careful, woman," Ra's warned, his irritation seeping into his voice. "Mocking a god is a very good way to get yourself killed."

"Then I really have nothing to worry about," she smirked as she cartwheeled into the remaining Ubus and started hurling them like rocks at the shield. Then she started throwing their staffs like spears at it, actually causing it to flicker which, further enraged Ra's.

Ra's began firing torrents of fire and stone at Diana, trying to beat her down, but she was using the pillars and larger pieces of rubble left by Ra's attacks as cover. With her speed and agility, she was able to stay ahead of his attacks. For the time being, at least.

"You claim to be a god, yet all you can do is throw stones and a bit of fire," Diana continued to taunt. "You'll make a fine fiend in Tartarus. A simple minded slave to a real god."

"You require a demonstration of my true power," Ra's angrily replied. "So be it."

The room was suddenly ablaze with a massive storm of fire, the ground shook and split open and spears of water, formed from the fountain at the back of the room, began to rain down around Diana. Bruce knew he was out of time. She wouldn't be able to survive long under this level of assault, though he knew she wouldn't stop until Ra's killed her. He hastily made the final connections, using a cutting laser as a makeshift soldering gun.

It was as he was finishing his final connection that when he heard a sound that made his blood run cold. The sound that returned him to that dark ally so many years ago, a frightened little boy, losing all that he loved. It was the sound of Diana's scream of pain as Ra's was lucky enough to score a direct hit. Bruce turned to see her on her back, buried with debris up to her neck, her eyes closed and blood dripping from her right hand. A hurricane of emotions stormed through Bruce. He was terrified for her, he was furious at Ra's and wanted his blood, and he was ticked at himself for getting so emotionally involved with a teammate. But none of that mattered right now. He was the Batman and he had a job to do.

"What's the matter, Amazon?" Ra's mocked. "No more taunting? I must say that I have enjoyed breaking you." Ra's raised his hand, preparing to release another assault on the unmoving princess.

Doing his best to bury his emotions, Bruce charged at his long time nemesis with his jury rigged electric staff, "Ra's!" Bruce yelled, drawing his attention.

As Ra's turned to face him, Bruce jammed the end of his staff into the shield protecting his enemy, releasing all of its built up electrical charge. The massive surge of power shorted out the shield with a powerful shock wave that knocked the surprised Ra's al Ghul from his feet. Bruce had been expecting the shock wave and was able to brace himself. He pressed the momentary advantage, dropping the now useless staff and throwing a bola at Ra's as he pushed himself back to his feet.

With nothing but a simple look from Ra's the bola burst into flames. "Come now, Detective," Ra's taunted. "Did you really expect a ball and string to stop a god?"

Bruce had to move quickly to dive out of the way of an oncoming blast of flames. Luckily Ra's was still more interested in showing off his power than actually killing them. That arrogance would cost him, but first Bruce needed to get a clear shot at the machine that was feeding Ra's his power. With the shield down and all of the guards out of the way, the only thing left standing between Bruce and the machine was Ra's himself.

Bruce caught himself taking a quick glance over at Diana. He needed to move fast, if Ra's killed him, Diana would be next and Gotham and the rest of the world wouldn't be far behind. Ra's power was growing with each passing moment and soon he would no longer need the machine. With the full power of the relics he would be able to create tidal waves with a thought, create earthquakes that would level cities, or torch entire armies with little more than a wave of his hand. If the Batman failed, Ra's would be unstoppable.

Using his cape to cover his movements, Batman let fly three explosive batarangs right at the so called god. Ra's easily slapped them away with a wave of fire.

"I'm disappointed, Detective," Ra's laughed. "I really did expect more from you."

Bruce let a slight grin come to his lips, "Don't be too disappointed."

Ra's' smile quickly faded as he turned just in time to see the small rolling explosives, Bruce had released with his other hand, hit the central device. The resulting colossal explosion sent both men flying a couple of meters through the air and left Bruce's ears ringing. He was already battered and bruised from the last few days, his chest ached with every breath from very nearly drowning only a couple of days ago, his head felt like it was a spinning top and Bruce suspected he might have a minor concussion, so it was no surprise that Ra's was the first of the two men to get back to his feet.

"You are a constant thorn in my side, Detective! One I should have removed long ago," Ra's yelled angrily, as he drew his sword. "All you have accomplished is to delay my plans. This is but a minor set back. Once you are dead I will take the relics to another of my lairs and complete the transfer."

Bruce wasn't able to fully dodge the blade as it sliced through his armour and into his side. Ra's was an expert swordsmen with centuries of battlefield experience. Being unarmed, Bruce knew he wasn't in a good position to win this fight. He removed his cape and wrapped it around his arm to give him some added protection as he tried to evade Ra's' continued assault.

"Your Amazon princess will make an excellent start to my new harem," Ra's taunted. "As an immortal, she will have an eternity to pleasure me."

Bruce knew better than to think Diana would ever allow that to happen, but he also knew she would give her life to stop Ra's and he was not about allow that to happen. He was in no condition to beat Ra's and the ancient structure was beginning to collapse around him from all of the damage, but he still had one play. Batman rolled away from the blade cutting through the air as Ra's tried for a finishing blow. Bruce drew his last explosive batarang, and stuck a C5 adhesive charge to it.

"No, Ra's," Bruce said defiantly raising his weapon as he took aim. "This ends now!"

The next few moments seemed to move in slow motion for Bruce. He watched as Ra's desperately tried to get between the batarang and its target. Bruce had used the natural curving effect of the batarang to send it arching away from Ra's and back at his target. As fast and skilled as Ra's was, he had no chance of catching it.

He knew that the resulting explosion would be fatal to both Ra's and himself. Even if he could escape the blast itself, the shock wave would turn his brain and heart to paste. But Diana would be safe. She was further away and far more durable. In these last moments of his life he regretted that he had never told her how much he loved her.

He watched as the batarang connected with the case holding the bow of Apollo. He could almost see the shock wave of the explosion spreading out before he felt the hard impact of an arm wrapping around him and pulling him away at an ever accelerating speed. His vision was blurred and he was on the verge of blacking out, but he knew it was Diana's arm around him. Even sweaty and covered in blood and dirt, she still smelled magnificent. She had awoken, gotten clear of the rubble and, after a brief detour at supersonic speed to recover Athena's spear, she pulled Bruce clear of the explosion and the crumbling building. He passed out with a smile on his face, safe in her arms.


	19. Chapter 18

It had been three days since he had last seen her, after she had pulled him out just before the explosion that had apparently killed Ra's. He would have liked to think Ra's was gone for sure this time, but he always seemed to pop back up and it was better to be prepared. He might be paranoid, but it kept him alive.

Bruce hadn't really had a chance to speak to Diana at all after the explosion. Phillipus and the rest of the Amazons were waiting for them when they got clear of the structure and he knew better then to appear too personal with the Amazon Princess in front of her people.

Phillipus had insisted that Diana be the one to return the spear to her mother and Athena's temple, and though he knew Diana was reluctant, they both knew it was required by her people's tradition that, having been the one to retrieve the spear, she be the one to return it.

Diana had tried to talk to him before she left. He could tell that she had wanted some quiet acknowledgement of the feelings between them but Bruce had dismissed her. He had let things go too far as it was. He knew he'd hurt her but he couldn't let the Amazons see her being emotionally attached to a man. They would look down on her for it and he wouldn't let her lose their respect, a respect he knew she cherished.

He'd lied to himself of course, pretending that pushing her away was all for the best. Now that their mission together was over, a bit of distance between them would make things easier and they could go back to the relationship they had before, however dysfunctional and unsatisfying it was for them.

He was a good liar but even he couldn't force himself to believe the load of bullshit he kept repeating over and over in his head as she consumed his thoughts. A thousand times each day he had to stop himself from calling her on the comm. link and ten thousand times a day he found himself staring at her GPS marker blinking on the world map. He had so much he wanted to say to her; so much he wanted to tell her. He wanted to feel her in his arms, to see her smile and hear her laugh, but most of all he just wanted be with her.

He knew it was wrong. The bat in him screamed for him to keep his mind on what he was doing. It scolded him for letting things get this far and reminded him that she had no place in his world, nor he in hers. He was the Batman. He belonged in the dark alleys and the scary places of the world where others feared to tread. She was Wonder Woman! She belonged in the spotlight, showing the entire world that they could be better and what it was everyone should strive to be.

It hadn't been so hard to give her up before this last mission but it had allowed a closeness to develop between them that was hard to dismiss. Diana had never been shy about displaying her feelings for him, but so much had happened in those few days. Bruce had seen her feelings evolve from flirtatious attraction to something much deeper just as his own had. When she looked into his eyes, he could see she loved him, and when they kissed, he felt that passion. He knew he returned it as his heart raced just thinking about her.

Alfred hadn't been making things any easier for him either. The old man certainly wasn't blind and could read him like a book. It had taken him about two seconds to figure out Bruce was in love with Diana and that he had pushed her away. He wasn't subtle about telling Bruce he thought he was an idiot and reminding him that he became the Batman to honour his parents memory and there was nothing his parents would want more than for their son to be happy and have a family of his own. After that he had barely spoken to him.

Bruce watched as the sun began to rise. Batman's patrols had been getting progressively longer each night since he'd returned. Swinging from building tops and beating down would-be-muggers, robbers and rapists distracted him, at least for a little while. The Batman would take over and all thought beyond getting the job done would be pushed from is mind.

Kent had been trying to contact him for days, and he was dreading the inevitable visit Clark would pay him. He was irritated enough by Alfred giving him the cold shoulder that he didn't need the boy scout giving him crap about his love life. Bruce had filed his report with the Watchtower, so at least that would buy him a few days.

It was nearly seven in the morning by the time the Batmobile pulled into the cave. Bruce was too edgy to sleep and he didn't need another sex dream about Diana to remind him of what he really wanted, so he went to the gym area instead. He'd try to sweat her out of him.

Bruce had been working out for nearly two hours when he heard her approaching the gym. He didn't need to see her to know it was her. He could tell from the measured cadence of her footsteps and the alluring smell that only she possessed. That jasmine scent that was so intoxicating she could honestly give Poison Ivy a run for her money in the pheromone department. Hell, even at League meetings he sometimes found himself distracted by it.

"How was did everything go back home, Princess?" he asked without turning to face her. He tried to maintain the composure of the Batman.

From the corner of his eye he could see her. She was wearing a white silk blouse with the top two buttons undone, displaying a modest amount of cleavage, a black pencil skirt that reached her mid thighs and open toed black high heels. She had her hair twisted up in a messy knot and tendrils caressed her cheeks and neck. God she was gorgeous!

"My mother was gratified to have Athena's spear back where it belongs," she replied. "We had many fallen sisters to honour, and a great victory to celebrate. It was all quite beautiful. My mother thanks you for all you did to help retrieve the spear."

Bruce looked at her with a raised eyebrow and an expression that said, "I very much doubt that."

"Well, she acknowledged in passing that you are a champion of Themyscira," Diana replied. "You have my thanks, Bruce."

Why did his name sound so good when she said it?

"I was protecting Gotham. Returning the spear was just a perk," Bruce stated in a neutral voice as he tried to keep up the facade of the Bat. "There's nothing to thank me for. We both did our jobs."

Bruce noticed Diana's gaze kept dropping to his sweat glistened bare chest. The hungry look in her eyes made his heart pound so hard that he practically heard it rushing through his veins and arteries. But the bat in him was screaming to get rid of her, to run before things got more complicated.

"Bruce..." His name rolled off her tongue in a sultry whisper, as she stepped closer to him and put her hand on his chest as she bit her lower lip. He watched as color rose in her cheeks.

The look in her eyes wasn't lust, it was passion and love and Bruce found it near impossible to resist. Bruce's mind scrambled to try to think of what to say to kill that fire that only reflected what he himself felt in his heart. The bat in him demanded that he send her away, but the man in him wanted nothing more than to taste those luscious cherry lips.

"Diana, I..." Bruce wasn't sure how he was going to finish that sentence, but was saved from having to figure it out when she placed a finger over his lips.

"Bruce, I love you," she confessed pure and simple. Though he had already known it hearing her say it made it more true somehow. "And I know you love me too. Stop making this so complicated."

"Princess..." he began, but was again interrupted.

"Shut up, Bruce," Diana said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her hungry lips.

The passionate kiss set Bruce's skin on fire. He'd wanted her for so long, and over the last three days that longing had grown to the point of being painful. Now she was in his arms, her lips, her body, pressed against his. There was no more internal argument as the voice of Batman was obliterated by their fiery hunger. He was going to have her, consequences be damned.

Bruce's mind was so lost to desire, that it wasn't until a small moan escaped from her mouth as he ran biting kisses down her neck, that he realized he had already undone her blouse and bra with one hand that was now sliding around her waist to her ass to press her against his arousal and his other was buried in her silky hair.

He paused; afraid that he was pushing her too far too fast, and then he felt her hand slip under the waistband of his pants and wrap around his erection While she whispered, "Don't stop…please, don't stop now. I need you, Bruce."

The sound of her desire filled voice saying his name, the smell of her, and most of all the feel of her, had him spellbound. There was no way he could to stop now. As he bit into the spot where her shoulder met her neck, she let out a cry of wild pleasure. She released him from her grip just long enough for him to slide her blouse and bra back over her shoulders and down her arms to the floor. Then she pulled him into another kiss of warring tongues as she rubbed her bare torso against his.

Wrapping his arm around her thighs, he lifted her, and slowly lowered her onto the workout mat. A bed after a beautiful candlelit dinner with champagne would have been nice for their first time together but that wasn't going to happen. Besides this honest, heat of the moment lovemaking really suited them better.

Bruce's hands slowly made their way up her perfectly formed legs as he pushed her skirt up to her waist before sliding off her panties, exposing her moist core to the cool air and his gentle touch. His questing fingers slid between her folds and into her letting him feel her readiness. With her help, he quickly removed his pants and lowered himself over her.

He took her face in his hands and looked into her passion glazed eyes. He saw the absolute completeness of her love. She knew him heart and soul; all his strengths and all his flaws and she loved him regardless. Bruce could feel his control slipping away as he joined their bodies together for the first time. He knew that being with her would complete him in a way he'd never felt before. As her heat enveloped him, he couldn't stop the moan that escaped his throat.

They no longer needed words but Bruce couldn't stop himself from whispering into her ear, "I love you." To which Diana responded with a moan and by raising her hips and taking him deeper into her body. Bruce control snapped completely and soon they both were lost in pleasure and love. Nothing in his life before was more perfect making love to her on a hard mat in the Cave.

As they lay together in the afterglow, Bruce knew one thing with absolute certainty—he would never let her go.


End file.
